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THE SECRETS 
OF DISTINCTIVE DRESS 



Digitized by the Internet Archive 
in 2011 with funding from 
The Library of Congress 



http://www.archive.org/details/secretsofdistincOOpick 




Photo by Ma re tan 



e becrets 



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MARY BROOKS PICKEN 



The Secrets 
of Distinctive Dress 



HARMONIOUS, BECOMING, AND 

BEAUTIFUL DRESS — ITS 

VALUE AND HOW TO 

ACHIEVE IT 



BY 

MARY BROOKS PICKEN 




COMPILED AND WRITTEN FOR 

THE WOMAN'S INSTITUTE 
OF DOMESTIC ARTS AND SCIENCES, INC. 

SCRANTON, PA. 






Copyright, 191 8 
By The International Educational Publishing Company 



aug 10 lata 



International Textbook Press 
Scranton, Pa. 



©CI.A501423 



7?f 



FOREWORD 



The search for happiness carries us as indi- 
viduals into the country, the streets, the parks, 
the churches, the homes, the theaters, and to 
books and magazines. 

To know happiness we must appreciate 
beauty, and to appreciate beauty we must 
develop it within us. 

A great degree of happiness may be had 
from a study of dress and its requisites, for, as 
we study, observe, and apply, our inner selves 
will awaken to the artistic side of dress, and 
once awakened will develop to such an extent 
as to give us understanding and appreciation. 

This book comes to you not as a "Beauty 
Book," but as a study, and my earnest desire 
is that it will help you to see in dress beauty 
that you have not been able to find before. 

An artist must know the principles of art 
to enjoy art or to make a success of it, and so 
must every woman know the principles of 
dress and enjoy dress to be successfully 
clothed. 

Dress has such tremendous possibilities, 
such far-reaching effect, such power for indi- 



IV FOREWORD 



vidual success, that no woman can afford not 
to understand these principles as well as the 
niceties of dress. 

This book does not attempt to exploit his- 
toric or ultra-fashionable dress, but to give as 
simply and directly as possible the funda- 
mentals of dress, to give instruction in the 
whys and wherefores of individually becom- 
ing dress, and to help elevate dress and its 
requisites to the plane where dress will be 
appreciated and where it will become a happi- 
ness to women. 

I wish to express my deepest appreciation 
for the valued suggestions and criticisms of 
the following friends who so kindly lent their 
aid by reading the manuscript and suggesting 
improvements in it: Mrs. Belle Armstrong 
Whitney, of the Whitney Fashion Corpora- 
tion, author of "What to Wear," New York; 
Miss Sarah Field Splint, Editor, Today's 
Housewife; Mrs. Margaret Bryce, Fashion 
Editor, Pictorial Review; Walter L. Pyle, 
A.M., M. D., Philadelphia, Pa.; John 
Emmet O'Brien, M. D., and Leroy Scott, 
D. D. S., Scranton, Pa. ; and the editor, Mr. 
G. L. Weinss, for his splendid and untiring 
assistance. 



CONTENTS 



CHAPTER I 

Your Individuality 

Your Distinctive Characteristics— Keynote 
to Distinctive Dress — Overcoming Dame 
Fashion's Unreasonableness — Self-Analysis. 

CHAPTER II 

The First Requisite J 3 

Physical Cleanliness— Bathing the Body- 
Care of the Face— Use of Cosmetics— Care 
of the Hands— Care of the Eyes— Washing, 
Drying, and Dressing the Hair — The Teeth 
—Cleanliness of Clothing— "The Over-Sun- 
day Girl." 

CHAPTER III 

Appropriate Dress 49 

Station in Life — Occasion — Season — Shoes 
and Hose — Hats, Veils, and Gloves— The 
Wearing of Furs— The Wearing of Jewelry 
— The Wearing of Flowers— Dressing Ap- 
propriately — Cultivating Intelligence in Dress 
— A Clothes Triumph. 

CHAPTER IV 

Becoming Dress IQI 

Truths Your Mirror Tells — The Process of 
Elimination — Look Your Best Always — 
Clothes for Your Type. 



VI CONTENTS 

PAGE 

CHAPTER V 

Your Color 113 

A Study of Color — The Color Family — Color 
Names — Development of Color Sense — Color 
Characteristics and Combinations — Selecting 
Your Color — Colors for Various Types. 

CHAPTER VI 

Beauty in Lines of Figure and Dress 145 

Line the Indicator of Grace — How to Express 
Lines — The Charm of Lithesomeness and 
Poise — The Proper Corset — Correct Propor- 
tions of the Human Figure — Overcoming 
Irregularities — Dress Suggestions for the 
Stout Woman. 

CHAPTER VII 
Importance of Suitable Fabrics 175 

Relation of Color, Line, and Fabric — Suc- 
cessful Combining of Fabrics — Suitability of 
Fabric Designs for Individuals — Guarding 
Against Contradictory Lines — Suitability of 
Fabrics. 

CHAPTER VIII 
Developing Your Style 187 

Good Taste in Dress — Getting Ideas From 
Good and Bad Dressers — Ready-to-Wear 
Garments as an Aid — Hints From Fashion 
Magazines — Color Suggestions From Fashion 
Plates — Interpreting Fashions — Other 
Sources of Information — Acquiring Success- 
ful Results — Your Style. 



CONTENTS Vil 

PAGE 

CHAPTER IX 
Economy in Dress 209 

Economy Without Cheapness — Clothes Con- 
servation — Clothes-Closet Exploits — A Pledge 
for American Women. 

CHAPTER X 
Distinctive Dress 217 

Personality and Mentality — An Interesting 
Personality — The ABC of Distinctive 
Dress. 



ILLUSTRATIONS 



Mary Brooks Picken Frontispiece 

PAGE 

Peggy Wood 49 

Mary Pickford 112 

Color Chart 116 

Elsie Ferguson 145 

Billie Burke 175 

Olga Petrova 217 



THE SECRETS OF DISTINCTIVE 
DRESS 

CHAPTER I 
YOUR INDIVIDUALITY 

YOUR DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERISTICS KEYNOTE TO DIS- 
TINCTIVE DRESS OVERCOMING DAME FASHION'S 

UNREASONABLENESS — SELF-ANALYSIS. 

Personality is the outward expression of 
that indefinable quality known as "individu- 
ality." Personality we can develop — can 
really create. How? By making it express in 
the fullest sense our highest and best aspira- 
tions. 

Personalities carry great responsibilities, 
because we expect them to represent us as indi- 
viduals. We should therefore clothe our 
personalities with honest thoughts, high ideals, 
and lofty purposes; and to enable them to 
forge ahead — to permit us to reach the pin- 
nacles of our aspirations — we should clothe 
their dwelling places — our bodies — with 
agreeable and proper raiment, raiment that 
will not hamper them but stimulate them to 

COPYRIGHTED BY INTERNATIONAL EDUCATIONAL PUBLISHING COMPANY. 
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 



2 SECRETS OF DISTINCTIVE DRESS 

guide our pursuits, to make friends and suc- 
cess for us. 

Your individual characteristics should 
dominate you, your ideas, your attitude 
toward life and toward those with whom you 
come in contact. 

Your clothes help you to express your 
innermost thoughts, your kindliness, your 
good feeling toward all about you — one big 
and worth-while reason for knowing your 
good and bad points, knowing yourself well 
enough to bring out the charm you possess, or 
to create charm if you feel that you lack this 
invaluable quality. 

You should never be satisfied to be a nonen- 
tity in intellect, in understanding, or in friend- 
ship. You should express your personality 
in these things, and, in doing this, one of the 
greatest aids is dressing yourself appropri- 
ately, becomingly, and with individuality. 

Sometimes, women misinterpret the worth 
whileness of individuality in attire and resort 
to freakish costuming. We may be grateful 
for the inf requency of such mistakes, for there 
are few women — yes, yery few — who do not 
desire to dress in the prettiest and most becom- 
ing way possible, and who will not with aid 
and encouragement persevere until capable of 
dressing in a distinctive, beautiful way. 



YOUR INDIVIDUALITY 



It is my desire in this book to give you 
authentic and definite information that will 
enable you to distinguish that which is worth 
while from that which is not, and so help you 
in making selections of materials, colors, and 
designs that will give you garments that will 
harmonize with your individuality and en- 
vironment. 

The experience of designers and creators 
of wearing apparel has demonstrated that har- 
monious dress is simply the result of a proper 
knowledge of color, basic motifs of design, the 
kind of fabric to employ for a given purpose, 
and the lines of the human figure. Therefore, 
instead of being perplexing, harmonious dress 
— distinctive dress — is simply the result of 
good judgment used in selecting colors and 
fabrics and choosing and adapting styles that, 
in motifs of design, suit the lines of your 
figure. 

To be clothed in garments that in every way 
bring out your best points and in no way 
emphasize any of your defects should be your 
aim. There are comparatively few women 
who can afford to be extravagantly dressed; 
yet, no woman, no matter what her station in 
life may be, can afford to be shabbily dressed. 

Next to your ability — and some claim be- 
fore it — comes your personal appearance. 



4 SECRETS OF DISTINCTIVE DRESS 

Your clothes are your visiting cards — your 
cards of admission, so to speak — and you can- 
not afford to be tabooed because of being un- 
tidy or dressed unbecomingly. 

A really well-dressed woman is never con- 
spicuous nor uncomfortable no matter where 
she may be. To be well dressed, however, 
does not necessarily mean that you must be 
extravagantly dressed; it does mean, though, 
that you must understand dress harmony — 
how to adapt prevailing styles to harmonize 
with your personality and to conform to it. 

KEYNOTE TO DISTINCTIVE DRESS 
The keynote to distinctive dress is to know 
yourself — your good points, as well as your 
shortcomings. Every little part of your per- 
sonality has a direct bearing on what you may 
wear to the best advantage. 

Your figure controls the lines of your gar- 
ments ; your complexion, and even your tem- 
perament, the color; and your occupation or 
station in life, the fabric. Yet, coupled to 
all these is. the dominant question of fashion. 
It is not wise for any woman to let thoughts 
of fashion sway her entirely; yet, since 
clothes are a very important factor and they, 
in turn, are regulated by style tendencies, it 
would be unwise to overlook style conditions. 



YOUR INDIVIDUALITY 



Style has the power of adding much to the 
appearance of a garment if just a little thought 
is given to it. Thus, to illustrate my point, 
suppose we consider a dress or a suit that is, 
say, only a year old. When new, it was con- 
sidered very smart; yet in only one short year 
it seems to have lost the charm it had for us — 
is no longer satisfactory. 

Why this change? 

The fabric may be almost as good as when 
the garment was new, the color is practically 
the same, and it fits just as well as ever. 
What else then can it be if it is not the 
change in fashion — our conception of new 
lines — that makes the costume appear less 
attractive to us? 

None of your outer garments should be re- 
garded as a meaningless covering; rather, they 
should be considered as a part of you. 

Garments have the power of magnifying 
physical imperfections — to make one look con- 
spicuous, undignified, and even absurd; also, 
they have the power to emphasize good points 
and make one feel comfortable and always at 
ease. Therefore, by close and careful study, 
you should endeaver to find out what is most 
beautiful in yourself, and then set about to 
express this beauty as cautiously, as carefully, 
and as appropriately as you can. 



6 SECRETS OF DISTINCTIVE DRESS 

Garments of harmonious colorings that are 
carefully constructed will always tend to en- 
hance one's appearance, and an appropriate 
costume correctly designed will lend grace to 
the figure and an ease that aids in the bringing 
out of one's individuality. 

Whatever your station in life may be, there- 
fore, it is really your duty to study the lines 
of your face and your figure. Then you should 
give every detail, from the arrangement of 
your hair to the condition of your shoes, intel- 
ligent thought and careful attention. By 
heeding such advice you will be enabled to 
select styles that are practical and appropriate 
and yet becoming. 

OVERCOMING DAME FASHION'S 
UNREASONABLENESS 

To emphasize the necessity for a wise selec- 
tion of wearing apparel, I cannot refrain from 
mentioning that many women seem to be 
powerless to overcome the unreasonableness of 
Dame Fashion. 

Every season brings forth new colors and 
new lines; and many women in their endeavor 
to be, as they think, fashionable, hasten to 
adopt these new colorings and new lines with- 
out giving any thought as to whether or not 
they suit their particular type. 



YOUR INDIVIDUALITY 



To be fashionable does not mean that you 
should adopt every new fad just as it is given 
out; rather, it means that you should intelli- 
gently readjust the prevailing style so that it 
will conform to the lines of your face and your 
figure. 

After you give due consideration to dress 
that is becoming, in no case can you afford to 
overlook its appropriateness. The proper 
dress, you will find, is the one that agrees with 
your station in life and with the work that is to 
be done in it or the purpose for which it is in- 
tended. Successful business women, society 
women, and home women appreciate the 
necessity of wearing appropriate, becoming 
costumes in order to be able to cope with all 
duties that confront them. 

Besides style and coloring, therefore, the 
fabric of your garments must receive con- 
sideration. The fabrics you select for your 
dress should invariably be those best suited to 
your needs, as well as to the season of the year, 
the time of day in which the garment is to be 
worn, and the character of the garment. 

A knowledge of the things that lead to har- 
monious dress is valuable to every one. It 
aids in the proper selection of dress, serves to 
give new courage, new interest, and often- 
times new hope to those who realize its pos- 



8 SECRETS OF DISTINCTIVE DRESS 

sibilities, and arouses in every woman a love 
for all that is beautiful, right, and elevating. 
All who strive to follow the details that 
bring about dress harmony will be well re- 
paid, for they will experience the satisfaction 
of having serviceable, graceful garments that 
will be healthful, comfortable, stylish, splen- 
did on occasions, and, best of all, garments 
that will add to their charms rather than de- 
tract from them. 

SELF-ANALYSIS 

Analyze the efforts that have been made to 
produce a standardized dress for woman, and 
you will find that there is a legitimate reason 
for this agitation. Certain women who have 
become more or less efficient in their dress, 
and who do not look to the individual becom- 
ingness of dress so much as to its service, are 
trying to persuade women to be more efficient 
in buying and wearing their clothes. 

The dominant question in many minds is, 
"Will standardized dress make women effi- 
cient with regard to dress?" My opinion is 
to the contrary. I do believe that individual 
dress will bring about efficiency — yes, more 
than efficiency — because it will give us beauti- 
fully and correctly dressed women, a combi- 
nation very much to be desired. 



YOUR INDIVIDUALITY 



The woman who is at home all morning and 
probably goes shopping once or twice a week 
or to some charity meeting or church gather- 
ing and the woman who goes to business every 
morning do not have the same clothes require- 
ments. The woman who has a limousine to 
take her about does not have the same clothes 
requirements as the woman who must walk. 
The woman who goes to elaborate dinner par- 
ties and other evening affairs does not have 
the same clothes requirements as the woman 
who has a simple dinner at home with her 
family. The woman who plays golf or tennis 
and drives her own car does not have the same 
clothes requirements as the woman who has 
neither the time nor the inclination to engage 
in such sports or pleasures. 

It would be difficult to put down all types 
of women and their various clothes require- 
ments, but I hope I have named enough to 
make clear the necessity for self-analysis. It 
is for you to decide what kind of clothes you 
must wear to be becomingly and fittingly 
dressed. You must realize that if you are 
going out to business you should not dress as 
you would if you were going to a church 
gathering; nor should you, if you are going 
to an elaborate dinner party, wear a shirtwaist 
and skirt, as you may be privileged to do at a 



IO SECRETS OF DISTINCTIVE DRESS 

simple home dinner with your own family or 
with intimate friends. 

It is for you to decide, too, how long a suit 
or a dress must serve you, whether you must 
divide your clothes money for a tailored suit, 
two afternoon dresses, and two evening dresses, 
or whether you can spend the full amount on 
a tailored suit and one semi-evening dress that 
may be used for the afternoon functions that 
you may attend. 

The same analysis should be made in the 
matter of your hats, shoes, gloves, and all dress 
accessories, so that you can divide your dress 
allowance according to your individual needs, 
and at the same time be sure that you have 
adhered strictly to the rule of providing be- 
coming and proper clothes. 

It is better to have one dress or one suit that 
is becoming and the best your funds can possi- 
bly buy than to have two or three garments 
that might appear cheap and shabby. 

To my mind, an old garment of good ma- 
terial that is becoming is much better than a 
new garment that looks cheap. Do not dis- 
card clothes of beautiful materials and good 
workmanship that are right for you simply 
because you feel that they are not up to the 
fashion of the moment. It is better not to pro- 
cure garments so extreme that they will go out 



YOUR INDIVIDUALITY II 

of fashion before the required service is had 
from them. Buy good materials, make them 
up as appropriately and as attractively as you 
can, and then be a law unto yourself regarding 
the amount of wear you get out of them. 

As you read the instructions in this book, 
have your own needs constantly before you, 
not the needs of your neighbor. Remember 
that becoming dress fitting to your needs is the 
kind of dress for you. Keep this thought con- 
stantly before you, and you are bound to be 
benefited. You will be able to dress more 
attractively and to wear clothes that suit your 
individuality at less cost; besides, clothes will 
then mean more to you than ever before. 

There are other considerations regarding 
your individual dress. How much time and 
thought you can afford to give to your clothes? 
How much time can you spend in putting on 
and taking off your clothes ? Few women con- 
sider these points. They see a dress that is 
pretty; they like it. But they do not consider 
how long it is going to take them to put it on 
and take it off, whether they can afford, in the 
morning, to take the time required to put such 
a dress on, provided they must go out to busi- 
ness. Then, too, they do not take into consid- 
eration whether it is going to give the service 
that they require of a dress. 



12 SECRETS OF DISTINCTIVE DRESS 

A very prominent American woman writes 
definitely about the length of time that women 
give to putting on and taking off their clothes. 
She says that if women are to succeed in busi- 
ness, they must throw off the shackles of dress. 
They should so systematize their clothes that 
they can get into and out of them as quickly 
as a man gets into and out of his. If men in 
offices are called on to go into the street 
quickly, they can don a hat and coat and be 
properly dressed. In many instances, if a 
woman is going to town shopping, it takes her 
an hour and a half to get ready to go out; and 
when she returns she must change, requiring 
from twenty minutes to half an hour to do this. 

Such conditions as I have mentioned make 
me an enthusiastic advocate of every woman 
making a self-analysis, anticipating her clothes 
needs, and determining upon the length of 
time and the amount of money she can afford 
to spend on her wardrobe. When every wo- 
man appreciates what individual dress will 
mean to her personally, and then puts her 
appreciation into practice, we will have wo- 
men more beautifully and distinctively dressed 
than ever before, and with the certainty that 
not half the amount of money or time will be 
spent as when endeavoring to live up to the 
standard of dress set for her by her neighbor. 



CHAPTER II 
THE FIRST REQUISITE 

PHYSICAL CLEANLINESS — BATHING THE BODY — CARE OF 
THE FACE — USE OF COSMETICS — CARE OF THE 

HANDS — CARE OF THE EYES WASHING, DRYING, 

AND DRESSING THE HAIR — THE TEETH — CLEANLI- 
NESS OF CLOTHING "THE OVER-SUNDAY GIRL." 

You who desire to be benefited by a study 
of this book must at the outset realize that 
perfection of womanhood is to be acquired 
by persistent, correctly directed effort toward 
a definite goal. 

To be attractive is to be pleasing in face 
and figure, and you owe it to yourself to em- 
phasize to the utmost every good point you 
possess, be it big or little. Commonplaceness 
in a woman is almost a crime. No woman is 
fair to herself who is dowdy or commonplace, 
for within every woman, by virtue of her 
womanhood alone, is the possibility of being 
attractive if not beautiful. 

The greatest essential to a woman's charm 
of appearance is cleanliness — both moral and 
physical. Here we are going to consider 
chiefly physical cleanliness. 

13 



14 SECRETS OF DISTINCTIVE DRESS 

Bright eyes and an elastic step come from 
sleeping in a room that is well ventilated and 
from good digestion and clean intestines. 
Upon arising or fifteen minutes before break- 
fast, drink at least one-half glassful of water 
— three times this quantity is not too much. 
An orange, half a grape fruit, or an apple the 
first thing for breakfast will save you many a 
doctor bill. "An apple a day keeps the doctor 
away," and an eminent American physician 
is authority for the truth that there is not a 
"typical American ill that stewed prunes will 
not cure." 

The water will cleanse the stomach and 
make it ready for food ; the fruit will help the 
digestive organs and prevent constipation, 
which is the sworn enemy of bright eyes and a 
clear complexion. Constipation is usually 
caused by irregular and improper eating, too 
much starchy food, and insufficient exercise. 

BATHING THE BODY 
A bath in tepid water every morning upon 
arising, plenty of soap, vigorous rubbing, 
thorough rinsing and drying, cleanses the 
body of all old skin and impurities. It also 
stimulates the circulation and gives bodily 
exercise that could not be secured in any other 
way. 



THE FIRST REQUISITE 15 

Look about at your neighbors — in the 
homes, the classroom, the office, the club. 
You can invariably tell the woman who bathes 
frequently and the one who does not. A girl 
whom I knew was persistent in her desire 
for cleanliness, the keynote of attractiveness. 
Through necessity she lived in a boarding 
house where only two tub baths a week were 
allowed each individual and where her room 
had no heat in winter; yet she took a sponge 
bath daily and practiced towel rubbing. She 
said that she thought she would freeze the first 
few mornings, but after a little practice she 
could work so quickly that she soon had her 
skin stimulated and the little red blood cor- 
puscles dancing; and because of this she was 
comfortable enough to complete her toilet 
without feeling the severe coldness of her 
room. She commenced her day physically 
and mentally fit, and she radiated the charm 
of perfect cleanliness. 

There are physicians who claim that daily 
baths take needed vitality from frail or ner- 
vous persons, but we have yet to meet a woman 
who was ever the worse for frequent bathing. 
Some there are who do not have the conve- 
niences for a tub bath every day, but there is 
always the sponge bath and a vigorous rub 
with a bath towel to come to the rescue. That, 



1 6 SECRETS OF DISTINCTIVE DRESS 

at least, every woman should determine to 
have, and always clean, fresh garments next 
to the body. Frequent baths, especially foot- 
baths, with changes of garments are an abso- 
lute necessity if one is to reach the "dignity of 
perfect cleanliness." 

True, when we change underclothing every 
day, the garments apparently are not soiled. 
Good. Then they may be more easily laun- 
dered. Three practically clean garments can 
be washed as easily as one soiled one. But, 
remember, they should be well washed. The 
old skin that comes off the body and the im- 
purities that come out through the pores of the 
skin must, for health's sake, be removed from 
the clothing, as well as from the body. 

If ironing is a big item as regards time, 
strength, or expense, knitted or soft cotton 
crepe garments will solve the ironing prob- 
lem, especially for the busy woman. Such 
garments when washed may be shaken out and 
hung up straight to dry, thus making it possi- 
ble for them to be worn in cases of necessity 
without ironing. 

CARE OF THE FACE — USE OF COSMETICS 
"Let the pores breathe at night" is a good 
precept that is never overlooked by the woman 
who is particular about the care of her face. 



THE FIRST REQUISITE 17 

Before retiring, no matter what the time 
may be (it should be, if possible, not later 
than eleven o'clock if you must be up by 
seven) , wash the face thoroughly, using a pure 
toilet soap, soap in which there is no free 
alkali. 

Before washing your face, be careful to 
wash your hands. Many women do not real- 
ize the necessity of washing the hands thor- 
oughly before washing the face. Use warm 
water, a good nail brush, and generous lather. 
Clean water must be used for the face. 

If the face is very grimy, as from travel or 
outing, apply cold cream to every part of it 
and then wipe it with a soft cloth. Do not 
rub the cold cream into the face, for the dust 
and grime will go with it if you do; rather, 
cleanse the face as well as possible with the 
cream before the actual washing is begun. 

Then, wet the hands, and work up as good 
a lather as possible from a small amount of 
soap. Massage this lather into the face by 
pressing gently with the tips of the fingers, 
being careful not to rub so roughly as to cause 
noticeable wrinkles. Continue the massage 
over the entire face and neck. 

Rinse the lather off with warm water and 
then with clean lukewarm water; rinse again 
as thoroughly as possible, and take extra pre- 



1 8 SECRETS OF DISTINCTIVE DRESS 

caution that not a particle of lather remains 
on the face or neck. 

Now wash the face, neck, and ears thor- 
oughly with clean water, using a fresh, soft 
face cloth. The cloth used at this time will 
help to cleanse the pores and give the face a 
healthy, rosy glow. 

By massaging the face gently and correctly 
during the process of washing, the facial mus- 
cles will be exercised and strengthened, so that 
lines and sagginess will be prevented. 

Last of all, rinse with cold water — ice water 
is best — or rub a small piece of ice over the 
face. Cold rinsing contracts the pores and 
stimulates the circulation. 

Dry the face with a very soft towel, and 
if the skin has a tendency to become dry or 
chapped, apply a reliable cream lotion or 
massage with cold cream. 

The appearance of premature old age can 
be avoided by correct massage of the muscles 
and skin tissues, but we do know that there are 
physicians who claim that wrinkles often come 
indirectly from constipation, and, as neither 
you nor I can afford such a handicap as 
wrinkles, we must exercise and eat properly 
to avoid or overcome whatever causes them. 
And, if we do not succeed by the simple, 
natural methods here suggested, we should 



THE FIRST REQUISITE 1 9 

call on expert help to correct the trouble 
for us. 

To wash the face during the day, use a face 
cloth and tepid water; no soap is necessary 
unless the face is actually grimy. Wet the 
face cloth and rub the face thoroughly; then 
dry it with a very soft towel. Such washing 
will, as a rule, clean the face, for usually there 
is nothing but oil or perspiration to remove. 
Make it a rule to rinse off the face with cold 
water, and always rub up when washing or 
drying. 

If the face does not seem to be cleansed 
after the warm-water rinsing and soft-towel 
drying, use a standard make of cold cream. 
Massage the cream into the face well with the 
tips of the fingers, using "more massage than 
cream." When done, wipe the face with a 
soft old cloth or absorbent cotton. A good 
plan is to keep at hand small pieces of soft old 
muslin, such as that obtained from the skirt of 
a wornout nainsook night dress. 

Many women, when bathing in the surf 
during the summer apply a generous coating 
of cold cream and then a thorough powdering 
to help protect the skin from sunburn. 

When traveling, if the face needs cleansing 
during the day, moisten a bit of cotton with 
delicately scented toilet water and wipe the 



20 SECRETS OF DISTINCTIVE DRESS 

face thoroughly. This will freshen and 
cleanse the face in a nice way, because the 
toilet water is almost as refreshing as a water 
wash. 

After cleansing the face thoroughly, apply 
a generous supply of face powder and then 
brush it off with the back of the hand or with 
a soft cloth. 

If rouge is used (sometimes it may be desir- 
able, but rarely), apply it before the powder 
is put on, so that the face will look as nearly 
natural as possible and the powder may help 
to blend the rouge into the skin. 

There is a great difference of opinion as to 
the use of things that give surface prettiness, 
such a rouge, lip sticks, eyebrow pencils, and 
"beauty patches." 

For theatricals, under artificial light, these 
are almost invariably essential to emphasize 
certain facial expressions. However, at the 
opera, theater, dinner, or dance — in fact, at 
any place where one is in close contact with 
others — one will be more at ease, more natural, 
and more beautiful if the surface pretties are 
sparingly used. 

Face powder and talcum are necessary 
requisites to your dressing table, because their 
use emphasizes cleanliness, freshness, and care 
of your personal appearance. 



THE FIRST REQUISITE 21 

Cosmetics of any kind, especially rouge, lip 
sticks, and powder, if used, should be of excel- 
lent quality in order to be safe. And by 
excellent quality I mean the kinds that are 
manufactured by reputable firms and indorsed 
in advertisements by leading magazines. 

There is danger in cheap powder because 
of the metallic substance used for its founda- 
tion. More expensive powders, those with 
rice as their base, dust off more easily than do 
the cheaper grades. 

If you feel that the standard brands are too 
expensive for you, purchase toilet rice flour. 
It comes in packages, the same as powder, and 
is usually unscented, but it gives a fresh, clean 
appearing surface and is not injurious. It 
costs very little more than the cheap powders. 
Corn starch is very inexpensive and is clean, 
harmless, and delightfully refreshing. 

There are several colors of face powders : 
white, flesh, pink, brunette, and tan. A wise 
use of coloring in powders is essential. 

The natural color of the Anglo-Saxon is a 
soft, creamy color, with a noticeable flush on 
cheeks and lips. It should be understood that 
the artist in his attempts to produce flesh color 
uses cream color with pink. In a commercial 
sense, we think of pale pink as a flesh color. 
This is not true unless the cream tint is added. 



22 SECRETS OF DISTINCTIVE DRESS 

If your skin is unusually white, use pink and 
tan powders, dusting the face first with the tan 
and then with the pink and applying the pink 
to any part of the face that needs building up. 
For instance, if the face is narrow or if the 
chin recedes a trifle, emphasize these parts by 
powdering the face with pink all the way from 
ear to ear or using it generously on the chin. 

Tan or brunette powder is also better to use 
when the face has been sunburned, as it softens 
the appearance of the skin, removes any evi- 
dence of shininess, and does not emphasize the 
sunburn so much as white powder. 

• For the face that appears flushed, white 
powder is best, with an addition of pink pow- 
der to the cheeks, the tip of the chin, and the 
temples. 

For the brunette with a creamy complexion, 
flesh-colored powder is preferred. 

If the nose is prominent, tan powder, with 
white, rather than flesh, will help to make it 
less conspicuous. 

A judicious and intelligent use of powder 
will prove of inestimable aid to you if you 
seriously desire to look your best at all times. 
Always carry a powder puff or a chamois, a 
plain and inconspicuous one, and one that 
is, above all else, clean. A chamois dusted 
lightly with powder and used frequently and 



THE FIRST REQUISITE 23 

generously, privately, of course, during the 
day in your home, while calling, or in your 
office, gives a clean freshness to the face that 
can be secured in no other way. 

If a powder puff or a chamois is not con- 
venient, clean bits of cotton dipped in powder 
are extremely satisfactory. But they are more 
expensive both as regards powder and cotton 
than a chamois, as the chamois, provided it is 
a good one and is sufficiently large, can be 
washed frequently and kept in good condition. 

A lip stick is a stick of wax colored red, 
usually by harmless vegetable coloring. It is 
from one to three inches in length and is used 
to give color to the lips. Pale lips, which 
might appear lifeless at a brilliant party where 
a bright costume is worn, may be given a 
deeper color by the careful use of a lip stick. 

Lip sticks, with many hundreds of women, 
are in as common use as chamois and powder, 
though we all must admit they are not so neces- 
sary. A lip stick can rarely be used without 
being definitely evident, and some persons 
contend that its use will thicken the flesh of 
the lips — not at all a desirable thing. How- 
ever, every woman should decide for herself 
whether she can afford, from an ethical point 
of view, to add color to her lips and whether 
it really improves her appearance. 



24 SECRETS OF DISTINCTIVE DRESS 

If your face has eruptions, consult your 
physician. Digestive or intestinal trouble 
generally causes them, especially constipation. 

Blackheads usually accompany large pores 
and are very unsightly. One cause for black- 
heads is that the pores open when the face is 
washed with warm water, and unless they are 
thoroughly contracted by the use of cold water 
or ice they may remain open ; then, when pow- 
der is put on, it becomes oily and causes a 
slight infection in the pores. 

If you have been annoyed with blackheads 
for any length of time, it will require patience 
and persistence to overcome them. Frequent 
bathing, washing the face carefully as di- 
rected, and using a piece of ice on the face, 
especially on the parts affected, will soon con- 
quer these little enemies of facial beauty. It 
is wise, however, to avoid the unnecessary use 
of powder while there remains any trace of 
infected pores. Once the blackheads are re- 
moved and systematic bathing is indulged in, 
powder may be used without annoying results. 

If you have growth of superfluous hair on 
the face, see a competent electric-needle spe- 
cialist, a medical dermatologist, or your own 
family physician. Hair can be removed from 
the face without any injurious after effects, 
but the work should be done by an expert. 



THE FIRST REQUISITE 25 

If you cannot have this done at once, a small 
tweezers will give temporary relief, as wild 
hairs, such as sometimes make their appear- 
ance on the chin or grow from moles, may be 
removed with them. 

In pulling hair out with tweezers, put the 
points of the tweezers up close to the flesh, so 
that the hair may be pulled out by the root, 
not merely broken off. If this plan is fol- 
lowed, the hair will require persistent watch- 
ing, because it grows in quickly. Usually it 
must be pulled out at least three times a week. 
Constant pulling out of hair from the face is 
not recommended, for an electric needle in 
competent hands will give more permanent 
and satisfactory results. 

CARE OF THE HANDS 

Your hands may be such hands as "speak 
more eloquently than words," and as they do so 
much for you they deserve more than passing 
consideration. 

If it is necessary for you to have your hands 
in water very much, rinse them thoroughly 
and dry them carefully. This is better than 
trying to correct chapped hands resulting 
from lack of rinsing and drying. 

If your hands are inclined to chap, apply 
each night before retiring, after the hands 



26 SECRETS OF DISTINCTIVE DRESS 

have been made thoroughly clean, a lotion of 
rose water and glycerine or any other lotion 
you know to be reliable and agreeable to 
your skin. 

To have presentable hands, your nails re- 
quire special attention. 

Every woman can train herself to be her 
own manicurist. She need not supply herself 
with an elaborate outfit, for manicuring can 
be done just as effectively and at less cost with 
just the necessary implements. 

The articles that can be used to advantage 
in transforming the roughest, ugliest-shaped 
nails into shiny, transparent, almond-shaped 
ones are a file, a buffer, sharp curved scissors, 
an orangewood stick, a cuticle knife, emery 
boards, a nail brush, cuticle acid, nail polish, 
and white vaseline. 

To prepare for manicuring the nails, hold 
the fingers for a few minutes in warm soapy 
water, so as to soften the nails and the cuticle. 
Then dry the hands, carefully pushing back 
the cuticle in the drying. 

Filing the nails on each hand is the next 
step. Give each nail an oval shape, and as 
nearly as possible have it conform to the shape 
of the finger tip. Do not hold the file too 
firmly, and file from the side of the nail toward 
the center. 



THE FIRST REQUISITE 27 

Next, wrap a small piece of cotton around 
the end of an orangewood stick or a similar 
implement, dip the stick into the cuticle acid, 
and push back the cuticle; also, run the stick 
under the tips of the nails in order to remove 
any stains. 

Do not cut the cuticle unless it is absolutely 
necessary. The more often it is cut, the harder 
and more callous it becomes. It can be trained 
to remain in proper condition by regularly 
pushing it back with the orangewood stick 
and with a towel when drying the hands. 

Should there be hangnails, trim them with 
the scissors, but be careful not to gouge the 
flesh. Applying vaseline to the nails at night 
will keep the cuticle soft and avoid the forma- 
tion of hangnails. 

Should there be scales on the surface of the 
nails, remove them with the cuticle knife, but 
be very careful not to scratch the nails. Then 
smooth up the rough, uneven edges of the nails 
by using an emery board. 

Polishing the nails is the next step. Either 
the cake or the powder form or the small stick 
of nail polish can be used for this. Dip the 
buffer into the powder or rub the cake form 
over it, if the cake form is used, and then draw 
it back and forth across the nails, one at a 
time, employing light, even strokes. 



28 SECRETS OF DISTINCTIVE DRESS 

After using the buffer, wash the hands, 
using a moderately stiff brush and a good 
grade of soap, and dry them thoroughly, using 
the towel to push back the cuticle. 

To finish the operation, rub a little of the 
nail polish over the palm of one hand and rub 
the nails over this enamel. Repeat the opera- 
tion for the other hand. 

CARE OF THE EYES 

The eye is the life-spark of the body — "the 
window of the soul." A clear conscience, a 
happy heart, and good digestion go a long 
way toward making your eyes beautiful. 

Have you ever realized that, as a rule, art- 
ists of dress consider the eyes first in deciding 
on a color for a gown? 

Dress to the eyes. If they are unattractive 
or lacking in brightness, consider the hair and 
have the color of your gown in harmony 
with it. 

One can never go far wrong, provided the 
complexion is at all normal, by following the 
rule of first eyes, then hair. We are all 
matched up pretty well; in fact, one rarely 
sees a misfit of eyes, hair, and complexion. If 
they seem to be out of tune, usually the cos- 
tume will be found to be at fault, rather than 
the coloring of the individual. 



THE FIRST REQUISITE 29 

The eyes, to be attractive, must be clean. 
They come in contact with impurities in the 
air just as the face and other parts of the body 
do. 

In certain localities where there is much 
smoke or dust, a small eyecup and a solution 
of boracic acid may be used to wash the eyes 
at night after the face has been washed. The 
boracic acid cleanses the eyes and avoids infec- 
tion. Washing the eyes in this way will soothe 
them if you have been in the outdoor air dur- 
ing a considerable part of the day. 

Nature provides us with eyebrows and eye- 
lashes to protect our eyes from dust and for- 
eign substances; also, Nature fittingly makes 
them a frame for the eyes — a frame that helps 
to bring out the color of the eyes and yet serves 
to protect them. 

Sometimes, usually in response to a fad of 
fashion, the eyebrows are shaved to produce 
a fine, shaped line and then blackened with 
an eyebrow pencil to affect Japanese eye lines, 
those of a French doll, or an artist's fancy. 

It must be admitted that such tampering 
with Nature, as it were, is sometimes effective, 
but rarely is it satisfactory or pleasing. On 
the other hand, light eyebrows, that is, eye- 
brows so fine and light in color that they do 
not give the proper background for the eyes, 



30 SECRETS OF DISTINCTIVE DRESS 

may be improved by the deft use of an eye- 
brow pencil (one may be purchased very 
reasonably and it will last indefinitely) . Such 
pencils, which are used to give a fine line, may 
also be made to provide a graceful shaping to 
the eyebrow by merely coloring the light hair 
that Nature has supplied, and if the pencil is 
cleverly and cautiously used such deception 
will rarely be detected. 

More permanent results, however, may be 
obtained from vaseline sparingly and gently 
rubbed into the eyebrows and on the lashes 
each night before retiring. 

Frequently the eyelashes are darkened with 
the pencil or with a very fine brush that has 
been dipped into coloring matter, but I can- 
not recommend such a practice, for if a tiny 
particle should get into the eye serious trouble 
might result. Eyes are by far too precious for 
one to run any possible risk of injuring them. 

Many women are possessed of a foolish van- 
ity in regard to wearing glasses, and put off 
wearing them until their eyes are almost be- 
yond help. Rarely is a woman's appearance 
improved by glasses, but they are a necessity 
in many cases, and if needed they should be 
worn. Advice in this connection should al- 
ways be sought from an oculist of established 
reputation. 



THE FIRST REQUISITE 3 1 

Frequently the need of corrected lenses is 
manifested in the semi-closing of the eyelids, 
with associated wrinkling of the skin in and 
about the eyelids, in constant compensatory 
pressure on the defective eyeballs. Such 
chronic facial contortions are a sad substitute 
for the wearing of proper correcting lenses, 
with the eyes wide open and the face in repose 
and unwrinkled. 

Eyes that are used for close work should 
have attention, and glasses are a wise precau- 
tion against eye strain and attendant serious 
results. If they are not provided, severe head- 
aches, squinting, and numerous other ills, as 
well as unsightly wrinkles, will result, all of 
which detract from any woman's appearance. 

If you must wear glasses, exercise the great- 
est care to have them correct. If you can 
afford but one pair of glasses, and it is neces- 
sary for you to wear them throughout the day 
and the evening, have them rimless and fitted 
with a nose clasp or with bows. 

If your nose has a good bridge, eye glasses 
may be worn successfully, and they are as a 
rule more becoming than spectacles. 

Ordinary spectacles — those with bows — 
should be resorted to if the bridge of the nose 
cannot be properly fitted. This holds good if 
your type of lens or your work demands that 



32 SECRETS OF DISTINCTIVE DRESS 

the glasses be firmly held in place, or if you 
have pronounced astigmatism. 

Heavy tortoise-shell rimmed glasses are ap- 
propriate in an office, for automobiling, or 
when strictly tailored clothes are worn. 

If the eyes are dull and listless, cultivate 
them. Make them sparkle with happiness 
and glow with kindness. Make them brilliant 
vouchers of your mentality. 

WASHING, DRYING, AND DRESSING THE HAIR 

A time-worn and oft-quoted maxim, but 
one that is nevertheless comforting to many 
of us, is the pretty truth that "woman's crown- 
ing glory is her hair." 

Yet most of us abuse our hair unmercifully. 
We keep it "dressed up" with hairpins, so to 
speak, while we sleep; we drag the comb 
through it, regardless of the damage we do; 
we twist it up in outlandish fashion. Some- 
times we permit it to become actually unclean, 
never stopping to consider that our hair does 
so much to help us present a good appearance. 

The hair should never be neglected, but 
always well cared for, kept clean, and dressed 
becomingly. 

A mistaken idea exists in many minds rela- 
tive to washing the hair. There are those who 
claim that washing the hair injures it. The 



THE FIRST REQUISITE 33 

hair becomes oily, the oil accumulates dust, 
and the oil and dust clog up the scalp, which is 
constantly throwing off old skin, the same as 
the body. Therefore, in order to permit the 
scalp to live healthily, frequent cleaning is 
necessary. 

Some authorities say that the hair should 
be washed, under ordinary conditions, once 
every two weeks. Personally, I have found 
this plan an agreeable one, as the hair is much 
prettier after it is thoroughly washed. Some 
women, because of lack of oil in their hair, 
find frequent washing undesirable. In such 
cases, individual experiment and comfort 
should determine when the hair should be 
washed. 

To prove more conclusively the value of a 
frequent shampoo, look around you the next 
time you are with a group of women. Clean, 
well-groomed hair has life and luster; un- 
cared-for hair, a stringy, dead look. A care- 
ful survey will make you eager for the 
fortnightly shampoo. 

Many women cannot afford the luxury of 
having their head shampooed by a profes- 
sional, nor is this necessary. Many excellent 
shampoos are on the market, and they may be 
used with safety in one's own home if direc- 
tions are followed. 



34 SECRETS OF DISTINCTIVE DRESS 

To make an inexpensive shampoo, shave off 
half of a small cake of Ivory soap; over this 
pour a cupful of water and heat it until the 
soap is entirely melted. Then beat the soap 
and water until it becomes a snow-white paste. 
This makes an excellent and absolutely harm- 
less shampoo. If there is considerable oil in 
the hair, or if you cannot wash your hair every 
two weeks, it may be necessary to add to the 
paste one-half teaspoonful of soda or a table- 
spoonful of alcohol to remove surplus oil and 
make the hair soft and fluffy. Oil of sassaf rass 
or any toilet water gives a delightful scent to 
the shampoo paste. 

The following method of shampooing will 
be found satisfactory: 

Lather the scalp with the paste and rub it 
thoroughly with the finger tips, so that every 
part of it will be reached. It is not advisable 
to rub soap on the hair, for sufficient lather 
remains in the hair after rubbing the scalp to 
clean it thoroughly. 

Rinse out the lather with warm water; then 
rinse with lukewarm water, then with a little 
cooler water, and for the last rinsing with 
water of moderate temperature. These four 
rinsings are sure to leave the scalp and hair 
free of soap. The cold water of last rinsing 
will close the pores and stimulate the scalp. 



THE FIRST REQUISITE 35 

For gray hair, a very small quantity of toilet 
ammonia in the water is especially good, as it 
takes out the yellow caused by the oil and 
leaves the hair a clear, clean gray. Some- 
times a little fleck of ball bluing is put in the 
last rinse water for gray hair to emphasize 
further the clean whiteness. 

To dry the hair, use a clean, soft bath towel. 
Rub the scalp gently, but thoroughly. Press 
the hair in the towel, so as to absorb as much 
of the moisture as possible. Then sit near a 
sunny window or directly in the sun, if possi- 
ble, and shake the hair gently, but thoroughly, 
until it is dry. In winter, warm towels are an 
aid to speedy drying. 

When the hair is practically dry, do it up 
in the way that you know is the most becom- 
ing, and arrange a hair net over it, using a net 
of a color that matches your hair as nearly as 
possible. Do not draw the net tight; rather, 
have it loose enough to permit the fluffy fresh- 
ness of the hair to be evident. 

By dressing the hair before it becomes 
"bone dry," a prettier coiffure is possible; 
also, the hair will be more easily kept in place 
until the next shampoo. 

Well-groomed hair is as attractive as hair 
of pretty color; a combination of the two is 
beautiful. 



36 SECRETS OF DISTINCTIVE DRESS 

If you have hair of a pretty color, you 
should by all means dress it attractively, to 
show that you appreciate your "crowning 
glory." If your hair is not of an attractive 
color, keeping it well-groomed and attrac- 
tively arranged is all the more necessary. 

At night, be careful to remove all the hair- 
pins from your hair and brush and comb it 
carefully. 

Do not use a metal comb. Use a good rub- 
ber, ivory, celluloid, or bone comb; one that 
has large, smooth teeth and that may be fre- 
quently washed is the best. Also, use a narrow 
brush with good, firm bristles, because with 
it you can get nearer the scalp than you can 
with a wide brush. The hairbrush should be 
plain and durable, so that it can be washed 
frequently in good suds, for a brush must be 
kept absolutely clean. 

Separate the hair, brush it gently on each 
side, and divide it into six strands, three 
strands on each side. Brush these strands 
carefully and braid them so as to form one 
braid on each side of the head. Do not make 
the braids too tight. Tight braids are injuri- 
ous; loose braids, helpful. 

In the morning, before arranging the hair 
for the day, brush it thoroughly, so that a 
neater coiffure will result. 



THE FIRST REQUISITE 37 

Many women comb the hair up, twist it 
around, fasten it with a few pins and start out 
for the day. That, of course, is not dressing 
the hair becomingly; it is merely putting it 
out of the way. 

Study your face and dress your hair to con- 
ceal your worst features and to emphasize 
your best ones. 

If your face is round, dress your hair low 
on the neck or in a high French roll, fluffed 
in pompadour effect on top and brought grace- 
fully down over the tops of the ears. Rarely 
should you part your hair in the middle. 

If you have a large, high forehead, bring 
your hair gracefully over it, so that your high 
forehead will not have undue prominence. 

The hat and the neck line of the costume 
have much to do with the dressing of the hair, 
too. If your neck is thick and short, dress 
your hair high on your head. If the prettiest 
spot you possess is the back of your neck, do 
not conceal it by bringing your hair down or 
your collar up. Hair dressed low on the neck 
is more youthful and frequently more becom- 
ing, especially to a young, matronly type of 
woman who is not too fleshy. 

If your nose is sharp, do not tell people so 
by wearing a Psyche knot at the back of your 
head. 



38 SECRETS OF DISTINCTIVE DRESS 

If your face is long and slim, fluff your hair 
at the sides and make believe that it is not. 

If you have pretty ears, do not conceal them 
by wearing the hair down over the ears. Cov- 
ering the ears not only narrows the face, but 
have you ever noticed that frequently those 
who do this have difficulty with the hearing? 
Why? Because the air passages are interfered 
with, and poor hearing results. Air is neces- 
sary for the ears, almost as much so as it is 
necessary for the nose and the mouth. And 
even if this practice were not injurious, why 
cover up the ear? 

The ear of a woman is usually clear pink, 
not ill-shaped, and there is a note of indi- 
viduality about it, the attractiveness of which 
one should emphasize, not conceal. 

Remember your ears, then, and remember 
that the hair should never be severely drawn 
back, but gracefully brought down not far 
enough, however, to cover the ear opening. 

Study the contour of your face. Study pic- 
tures of beautiful women. Magazines, espe- 
cially beauty advertisements in them, contain 
many pictures of beautiful women. Study 
these for new ideas of dressing your hair, and 
when you find a way that you think is just 
right for you, practice doing your hair like it 
until you have perfected the style. 



THE FIRST REQUISITE 39 

Do not try to do your hair all up in one 
twist. A capable hair dresser will divide the 
hair into four to eight sections and carefully 
pin each section in its place until she gets the 
effect she desires. A woman who carefully 
arranges her hair in the morning, using 
enough hairpins to give security, will not have 
a disheveled, careless-appearing head of hair 
at the end of the day. 

And this prompts me to tell you about hair- 
pins. Bone hairpins are softer in the hair than 
wire ones and should be used in the majority. 
They should be medium small, and of a color 
that matches the hair, if possible, so as to be 
inconspicuous. Small wire hairpins are a 
necessity and should be used generously to 
keep all stray locks in place. 

Your hair, then, demands careful attention, 
for it proclaims the well-groomed woman. 
"In cultivating a rose, we care for it, tend, 
water, and protect it. As a cultivated flower 
surpasses a weed, so a well-groomed woman 
surpasses the woman who neglects herself." 

THE TEETH 

You must keep your teeth absolutely clean, 

for your good health and attractiveness, too, 

depend much on them. Use a good tooth 

brush, one with front bristles longer than those 



40 SECRETS OF DISTINCTIVE DRESS 

in the body part, and a reliable tooth paste or 
tooth powder. Brush your teeth thoroughly, 
using an up-and-down movement and brush- 
ing them inside and outside, on the top and 
on the bottom, so that there will not be a par- 
ticle of food left on them. Then rinse your 
mouth thoroughly. Clean them this way at 
least twice a day — morning and evening. 
Three times a day would be better; in fact, 
this plan should be practiced whenever possi- 
ble. Dental floss should also be on hand to 
clean between the teeth. 

Many persons alternate with tooth paste 
and tooth powder, using one in the morning 
and the other in the evening. They believe 
that this is better for the teeth than to use all 
paste or all powder. The use of a mouth wash 
will preserve the teeth and freshen the breath, 
and is frequently advisable. 

Visit your dentist every six months; every 
three months if your teeth are soft. 

This is by no means an extravagance, but a 
real economy. Your dentist, if reliable (and 
you should patronize no other kind), will go 
over your teeth, clean them, and repair any 
small cavities. Then, if you observe the 
necessary precautions in taking care of them, 
they will serve you three times as long and 
will reward you by their attractiveness. 



THE FIRST REQUISITE 41 

Avoid having gold fillings that show. A 
porcelain filling is inconspicuous, and none 
but a filling of this kind should be permitted 
in the front of the mouth, except, of course, 
when gold is the only filling the dentist can 
use. 

Clean, well-preserved teeth, like clean 
hands and clean hair, have a great bearing on 
one's personal appearance. They are an evi- 
dence of our thorough appreciation of true 
cleanliness. 

CLEANLINESS OF CLOTHING 
It seems to me that mention of cleanliness of 
clothing is not wholly necessary in a work like 
this, for I truly believe admonition on such 
a subject is not needed by a woman who appre- 
ciates or desires self-improvement enough to 
seek it. 

But I cannot let the opportunity pass with- 
out emphasizing the need of cleanliness of 
clothing, for it may encourage you, dear 
reader, to suggest tactfully, kindly, and wisely 
the necessity to some one who is lax in this 
respect. 

I have been in offices, in classrooms, and 
even at club assemblages where not merely 
soiled blouses were worn, but unclean cami- 
soles and brassieres. 



42 SECRETS OF DISTINCTIVE DRESS 

Once, at a Y. W. C. A. bathing pool, I was 
shocked to see a vest so unclean that it looked 
exactly like the color of the cement floor. 
When the girl who wore it was dressed for the 
street, she was half presentable; but, though I 
met her many times afterwards, the vest was 
the first thing I thought of, and I could never 
summon the respect I should like to have had 
for her. 

If clothing is scarce, a midweek washing is 
the solution. 

Many girls in shops and offices who appre- 
ciate the value of cleanliness wash their 
blouses, underwear, and hose frequently in 
order to have a clean supply for the next day. 
This is a hardship, but one that should be 
borne faithfully for the sake of cleanliness, 
which not only gives greater composure and 
peace of mind, but adds to the comfort of one's 
coworkers. 

An odor of uncleanness among a group of 
girls or women is offensive, and each person 
should be scrupulously careful to be so clean 
that no one will, even for an instant, put her 
in the class with the offenders. 

The use of perfume is in many instances 
tabooed by women of refinement for the reason 
that it is used by some careless women to con- 
ceal unpleasant odors. Cleanness made by 



THE FIRST REQUISITE 43 

soap and clean water and generous rinsing re- 
quires no perfume to speak for it. 

Delicately scented perfume, toilet waters, 
and talcum powders, however, are frequently 
used by discriminating women, never conspic- 
uously, though, merely for the sweetness of 
perfume and possible sentiment. 

Perfumes are so exquisite in their luxurious- 
ness, so refined in their sweetness, as to seem 
indispensable. They have value, too, in that 
they are soothing and refreshing. But they 
have a place — a mission. They are too deli- 
cate, too rare, to be abused by misuse, for per- 
fume, you know, is made from the most 
delicately scented flowers, the choicest blos- 
soms that grow, and should be used as so many 
drops of condensed beauty. 

In some shops, where dark costumes are the 
required garb, frequently the odor that ema- 
nates from a saleswoman is so offensive that 
much of the joy of shopping is lost. 

If dark clothes are the rule, they should be 
aired at night and kept thoroughly clean, 
brushed, and pressed. 

In many offices, serge or heavy woolen one- 
piece dresses are desirable for winter wear, 
and many times only one dress can be afforded. 
This, however, can be becoming, and it can 
be kept clean and thoroughly aired. 



44 SECRETS OF DISTINCTIVE DRESS 

A dress that must be worn daily should be 
placed on a chair in front of an open window 
every night, so that it will be fresh and clean 
smelling in the morning. At least once a 
week, it should receive a thorough overhaul- 
ing and a brush scouring and steam pressing. 
Frequently, a clean fresh collar of a material 
in harmony with the dress should be worn, and 
curls, too, if practical. 

Sometimes odor is caused by excessive per- 
spiration. This can be overcome easily by the 
use of harmless perspiration-preventing prep- 
arations, which are advertised in reputable 
publications and sold by reliable druggists. 
The preventive kind rather than the odor-con- 
cealing kind is the more efficacious and is most 
often preferred. 

In cases of excessive perspiration, and there 
are some, frequently due to nervousness, even 
the perspiration preventives fail to give abso- 
lute protection. In such cases, the use of 
proper-sized dress shields securely placed in 
position in garments is not only a protection 
but a very great economy, for they prolong 
the wear of a blouse or a waist to a consider- 
able extent. Shields, if worn, should be large 
and of good quality, so that they may be 
frequently washed with soap and lukewarm 
water to keep them fresh and clean. 



THE FIRST REQUISITE 45 

Corsets, too, are a consideration as regards 
personal cleanliness. 

Up to a few years ago, it was thought that 
the lines of a corset, in fact, almost the corset 
itself, would vanish with washing, but that 
thought has been disproved. 

A good corset may be washed many times 
without ill effect. The washing should be 
done with a brush and good suds. Then clean 
rinse water will complete the task. 

A corset will contract, perhaps shrink a 
little, with the washing, and will make it 
necessary to have the laces a little looser than 
before washing; but in a day of wearing — two 
days at the most — the corset will resume its 
original size and permit of normal lacing. 

A book could well be written on the care of 
the American woman's shoes. 

If you would make the best of your shoes, 
keep them clean and well polished, not merely 
blackened, if perchance they are black shoes. 
Keep the heels in good repair; this is not an 
expense, for it saves the shoes. Likewise, keep 
the laces intact if they are lace shoes, and all 
the buttons on and buttonholes mended if they 
are button shoes. 

In caring for your shoes, shoe trees are 
almost necessities. They keep the shoes in 
shape. If possible, a pair of trees should be 



46 SECRETS OF DISTINCTIVE DRESS 

provided for every pair of shoes that are in the 
closet. If shoe trees are not available, it is 
advisable to stuff the front of the shoes with 
paper, so that they will retain their shape. 

A cretonne shoe box is also an economy and 
a convenience. A wooden box of a size to 
accommodate all your shoes, divided into com- 
partments and covered with cretonne and kept 
in your closet, helps to keep your shoes in place 
and prevents them from bumping around in 
the closet and becoming scratched and scarred. 
If, when you put them in the box, you make 
sure that they are clean, your shoes will be 
ready for wear when you want them. 

Another reason for thoroughly cleaning 
your shoes is that dirt and grit cut the leather 
and cause them to wear out more quickly. 
Polish possesses advantages in that it keeps 
dirt and moisture from penetrating the 
leather. 

A prominent and deeply respected business 
man said that when he was a youngster living 
on the farm his father found him shining a 
pair of shoes. "Son, shine the back of your 
shoes first; then, the front is sure to be shined." 
I think this is good advice for all, for some- 
times the backs of the shoes, especially the 
heels, are forgotten, and this is almost as bad 
as no shine at all. 



THE FIRST REQUISITE 47 

A little shop girl buys a pair of smart, white 
or light-colored spats or light-topped shoes. 
They are jaunty and attractive the first few 
days; then the deplorableness of dirt is evi- 
dent and they must receive care. If she wears 
them soiled, she will be branded as careless of 
her personal grooming. If she is to wear them 
clean, they will require daily care. 

The woman or girl who wears a soiled pair 
of white shoes and apologizes for their ap- 
pearance, using lack of time as her excuse, 
does not need scolding nearly so much for the 
soiled shoes as for buying them in the first 
place. If she cannot find time to keep white 
shoes clean and cannot afford to have them 
cleaned, she should never buy them. 

As with shoes, so with hose. They must be 
appropriate, as I explain later, and above all 
clean. Hose should be washed frequently, and 
the best plan in washing them is to rub them 
with the hands. Hard rubbing on a board 
wears them out, but frequent changes makes 
such hard rubbing unnecessary. 

"THE OVER-SUNDAY GIRL" 

Business men who are interested in their 

employes, and there are few nowadays who 

are not, if asked what type of girl makes the 

greatest success and merits advancement most 



48 SECRETS OF DISTINCTIVE DRESS 

often, will invariably tell you this : "The girl 
who takes the week-end holiday for herself 
and comes to business Monday morning rested, 
fresh, and clean, her clothes in good repair, a 
fresh shampoo, and her shoes shined." In 
fact, this type of girl is appreciated so much 
that she is frequently called "The Over-Sun- 
day Girl." 

We must be clean and presentable. We 
must be in touch with conditions and have a 
mind clear and open, a mind scintillating with 
ideas, if we hope to achieve success. 

And, you, as well as every girl or woman, 
are entitled to a measure of success. It will 
come if you build your defenses by learning 
the value of education and good health, the 
necessity of correct attire, and the far-reach- 
ing effects of an attractive personality. Take 
stock of yourself. Give yourself a fair show 
by making the most of every attractive point 
you possess, both of mind and body. Imitate 
if you will, but only the best, and do it well. 
Proper regard for the "intimate little feminine 
things" — that is the secret of charming indi- 
viduality. 




Campbell Studios 




PEGGY WOOD 

Clothes help Peggy Wood to play the part of Sweetheart, 
Grandmother, and Granddaughter in one play, "Maytime." 
Virtually this: Youth to old age and to youth again in one 
evening. 





Photos by Whif 



CHAPTER III 

APPROPRIATE DRESS 

STATION IN LIFE — OCCASION — SEASON — SHOES AND HOSE 

— HATS, VEILS, AND GLOVES THE WEARING OF 

FURS THE WEARING OF JEWELRY — THE WEARING 

OF FLOWERS — DRESSING APPROPRIATELY — CULTIVAT- 
ING INTELLIGENCE IN DRESS — A CLOTHES TRIUMPH. 

Much has been written on the subject of 
"station in life." In the older countries 
marked distinction exists between people of 
wealth and rank and the peasantry. 

In France, the peasant women delight in 
wearing their caps and aprons; in fact, it is 
almost an unheard-of thing for a peasant wo- 
man to be without them, for they take great 
pride in honest toil and want it known that 
they are "in service." 

In America, there are no such class distinc- 
tions. Here daughters from every country are 
blended in the making of American women; 
but even in this great Democracy appropri- 
ateness of dress should be understood and 
observed. 

If your position in life is such that you are 
looked up to and respected by your friends and 

49 



50 SECRETS OF DISTINCTIVE DRESS 

the community at large, you should be careful 
almost to a point of fastidiousness in the mat- 
ter of clothes. Regardless of where you live 
or how many people you meet in the day, there 
are some who may be affected by your knowl- 
edge and appreciation of dress or your lack of 
it. For this reason, if for no other, you should 
be exceedingly careful to give no one a chance 
to misjudge or criticize you. 

We never know what effect our example 
will have on our associates. To enjoy peace of 
mind and do our part well, we should make 
sure that our conduct and morals are above 
reproach and our style of dressing beyond 
criticism. For the woman of moderate means 
to be well dressed entails no hardships, for 
dignified economy and good taste invariably 
go hand in hand. 

When we see a young girl or a woman 
dressed in extravagant fineries and we know 
that her income or that of her father or her 
husband is too small to support such a dis- 
play, we cannot help but pity her and often, 
unfortunately, question her integrity. No 
woman should place herself in a position 
where she will be the object of undeserved 
sympathy or suspicion. 

There are some men who look on woman- 
kind as a whole as a bundle of lace and ribbon, 



APPROPRIATE DRESS 51 

and measure their business intelligence by this 
standard. This is unfair and the pity is that 
those responsible for it are women who are 
unable to discriminate where feminine finery 
is concerned. Nothing is more exquisitely 
feminine and attractive than fluffy lace and 
dainty ribbon used in the right place and at the 
right time, and nothing more unattractive 
than the display of such finery in inappro- 
priate surroundings. 

The love of pretty clothes is the cause of 
much unhappiness to many girls. Every girl 
should be taught from earliest childhood the 
value of the right kinds of clothes, as well as 
when and where to wear garments of certain 
types. 

If girls are taught early in life the prin- 
ciples of correct dress and the value of strict 
adherence to the rules of correct dressing, 
they would not appear at the office in the 
morning with a hat that is appropriate only 
for afternoon or evening wear, with thin 
silk stockings, with chiffon blouses, and an ex- 
cess of jewelry; rather, they would prize these 
things enough to keep them for the proper 
occasion, and, for the office, wear clothes that 
are comfortable, practical, and appropriate — 
clothes that will make it possible for them to 
give a good full day of intelligent service. 



52 SECRETS OF DISTINCTIVE DRESS 

Many club women and others interested in 
civic affairs have discussed the possibility of 
trying to teach young girls in offices and shops 
the appropriateness of dress. 

Usually, such efforts, after investigation, 
come to naught, for the reason that these en- 
thusiasts realize that dress is largely an indi- 
vidual problem, one that no corporation or 
firm can handle, except by making iron-clad 
rules, which usually result in a uniform. 

This, though economical from the individ- 
ual's point of view, is not desirable nor prac- 
tical for small offices and institutions. Rather, 
in such places, it is better to display individ- 
uality in one's attire with good taste as the 
distinguishing feature. 

A new era in woman's clothes is dawning, 
or, rather, a new outlook has been acquired by 
many. In factories and public places where 
women are employed to do the work of men, 
they wear bloomers and Russian blouses; or, 
sometimes, they wear full hip trousers, leg- 
gings, and a coat that gives the costume the 
appearance of a riding habit. 

Such costumes are appropriate if worn 
when necessity demands. They should be 
chosen discreetly, however, as a woman's fig- 
ure differs from that of a man. Such a cos- 
tume should be full enough over the hips and 



APPROPRIATE DRESS 53 

thighs and correctly fitted over the bust to 
avoid emphasizing the presence of flesh. 

If a woman's work is such as to demand a 
mannish costume, there is no reason why she 
should not wear it with comfort and grace and 
be just as much a gentlewoman as she would 
be in the most feminine costume. A real gen- 
tlewoman never needs to tell you that she is a 
gentlewoman. Her presence speaks more 
convincingly than words. 

OCCASION 

A great number of magazine articles have 
dwelt at length upon appropriateness in dress, 
and especially appropriate dress for all occa- 
sions; yet, with all that has been written and 
said upon this interesting and far-reaching 
subject, we see on every hand and on all occa- 
sions costumes that make the wearers conspic- 
uous because of their inappropriateness. 

For example, at an informal gathering of 
young women, all simply attired — most of 
them wore their business dresses, as it was a 
business meeting held in the early evening — 
one young woman came in a low neck, sleeve- 
less evening gown. She was conspicuous, and 
doubtless was most uncomfortable. Had it 
not been for the level-headedness of the other 
young women present, the appearance of this 



54 SECRETS OF DISTINCTIVE DRESS 

gay butterfly in the midst of these busy young 
bees might have caused a serious mental dis- 
turbance, as the meeting had been called for 
the discussion of personal development. 

Another time, I was disturbed to see a 
young woman hastening across the street, a 
market street it was, in sleeved apron and bou- 
doir cap — a fussy, lacy cap that would have 
been pretty in her bedroom, but words are in- 
adequate to express its "out-of-placeness" on a 
public thoroughfare. 

Another example: In a dietetics class held 
in the forenoon in a classroom, a young woman 
of good family wore a bedraggled afternoon 
dress, doubtless with the thought of wearing 
it out and getting as much good out of it as 
possible. The dress was distracting to the 
other members of the class, and the criticism 
she subjected herself to was costly — more 
costly than a simple businesslike dress befit- 
ting the occasion. 

When we learn, as a people, to take the mat- 
ter of dress seriously and conscientiously, 
study it as we would the subject of food for the 
table or reading matter for the development 
of the intellect, we will have removed our- 
selves from the pale of criticism and will be 
appreciated for the common sense and good 
taste expressed in our attire. 



APPROPRIATE DRESS 55 



SEASON 

One's physical comfort frequently keeps a 
very good check on appropriate dress for the 
season. For instance, on a midsummer's day, 
particularly in the warm climate of the South- 
ern and Central States, it is rare to see a dress 
of wool, especially of a dark color, except 
when worn through necessity. Not many 
years ago, however, if a woman had one black 
woolen dress (or possibly it was silk), it 
served for church service every Sunday in the 
year, and was also due to serve for the Fourth- 
of-July celebration. 

Elderly mothers have come to realize that 
they look ten years younger and are ten times 
more comfortable on a warm summer's day in 
a pretty, soft white dress, and it is pleasing to 
see a group of such mothers dressed in pretty, 
light wash dresses, as they appear many times 
as attractive as a group of young women. 

For summer wear in offices, a low-necked 
and short-sleeved frock, with inadequate petti- 
coats, no matter how pleasing the color or how 
pretty the design or how becoming, is not 
appropriate. 

A simple frock of modest design and color- 
ing or white, with a modest neck and reason- 
ably short sleeves and with adequate petticoats 



56 SECRETS OF DISTINCTIVE DRESS 

— one with a double front — is entirely appro- 
priate. In fact, such a frock is pleasing and 
comfortable for business, provided both dress 
and petticoats are absolutely clean. 

Milliners, dressmakers, and merchants, to 
offset the lull after Christmas, begin showing 
spring suits and spring hats, and it is not un- 
common to see in the coldest days of January 
a straw hat and low shoes, and in the warmest 
days of July, furs, and frequently heavy hats 
of velvet and fur. Pages and pages condemn- 
ing this practice have appeared in trade 
papers and magazines, but it is becoming so 
established that sometimes one feels almost 
conspicuous in a winter hat after the first of 
February and in a summer hat after the mid- 
dle of July. 

This condition should not exist, because it 
is illogical and inconsistent. Such practices 
create business for the milliners and merchants 
at the expense of women who are martyrs to 
fashion. The only way this condition can be 
adjusted is for every woman to be a law unto 
herself regarding the wearing of out-of -season 
clothes. 

The buying of cheap clothes is false econ- 
omy. Buy good, conservative clothes, take 
care of them, and wear them more than one 
season, if necessary. 



APPROPRIATE DRESS 57 

When spring comes and the winter coat, 
hat, and furs are to be put away, brush them, 
clean them thoroughly, and take care to store 
them where they will not become unduly 
wrinkled. When clothes become too wrin- 
kled, it is almost impossible to get them to look 
presentable again. The most careful steaming 
and pressing will not get them into their origi- 
nal condition. 

In hanging clothes away, place them care- 
fully on hangers in clothes sacks in your closet, 
so that they will be safe from dust and in good 
condition when you have occasion to wear 
them. To guard against damage from moths, 
put moth preventives in the sack. 

Before you buy your next winter's outfit, get 
out these things you have carefully put 
away and see what repairing and remodeling 
are necessary to make them wearable. 

You will be surprised to find how much 
better your things will look than you had an- 
ticipated, and that frequently many dollars 
can be saved by making use of some of your 
last season's clothes. 

In the winter, it is frequently convenient to 
wear little summer dresses about the house. 
However, if your summer dresses are not to 
be worn during the winter, wash them free of 
starch and put them away in bags or boxes. 



58 SECRETS OF DISTINCTIVE DRESS 

Garments made of white material should be 
put into a light-colored bag that has been 
thoroughly blued so that they will not become 
yellow. 

Summer hats are rarely wearable the second 
season, unless they are of good straw or 
braid and can be reblocked or redyed. But a 
hat, be it a summer or a winter one, should be 
put away with care, because, frequently, there 
are trimmings that can be utilized in making 
a new hat or for some other purpose. 

SHOES AND HOSE 

A neat shoe is a necessity for a tiny foot. 
How distressing it is to see an attractive foot 
in a shabby or unkempt shoe. And a large 
foot — well, it must of necessity be well-shod, 
shod in a way that will not attract attention 
to it. 

When buying shoes, always have your foot 
measured. Do not try to give your size and 
insist upon having it, because you may have 
gained or lost flesh, and this gain or loss is evi- 
dent on your foot the same as on your hands 
or any other part of the body. Then, too, 
shoes manufactured by different firms are 
made on different lasts, and the same size- 
number may be larger or smaller, according 
to the last used. 



APPROPRIATE DRESS 59 

Shoes should never be tight. Tight shoes 
cause many ills, and no one can ever appear 
graceful or at ease in a shoe that is uncomfor- 
table. 

It is economical as well as comfortable to 
have several pairs of shoes, as it rests the foot 
to wear different shoes. The leather fre- 
quently is softer in one pair than in another 
and consequently the feet are made a little 
more comfortable by the change. 

Much is added to the attractiveness of a cos- 
tume if proper shoes are worn. 

In selecting shoes to wear with certain 
dresses, exercise care to have the leather of the 
shoes correspond with the texture of the dress. 
For instance, soft silk dresses, such as char- 
meuse and satin, are really better with low 
fine kid or patent-leather shoes, and, the shoes 
being low, silk stockings help to soften the 
lines of the foot. 

Patent-leather shoes, oxfords, and slippers 
are frequently desirable for wear with lingerie 
dresses, as well as with silk and satin dresses. 

If it is not practicable to wear low shoes, 
cloth-top shoes or very fine kid-top shoes with 
light soles are in good taste. There are times, 
however, when "cloth tops" cannot be pro- 
cured, even though they do seem to be more 
agreeable for soft dresses. 



60 SECRETS OF DISTINCTIVE DRESS 

The hard-surface woolen materials, such as 
heavy cheviots, serges, tweeds, and novelty- 
suitings, seem to call for shoes of reasonably 
heavy leather, usually dark tan, brown, or 
black. 

The wearing of button or lace shoes is usu- 
ally controlled by fashion. When lace shoes 
are in fashion, it is almost impossible to pur- 
chase button shoes, and vice versa. 

Remember that, in the house, the heavy 
shoes you have worn on the street are not 
appropriate, especially if you change to a 
house dress. Besides, if you establish the 
habit of changing from street shoes to house 
shoes while you are in the house, your feet and 
your shoes will be better for it, and you will 
enjoy much greater comfort. 

We should cultivate a little of the English 
woman's accuracy in wearing the right thing 
at the right time. 

A tailored suit calls for a shoe with a plain 
heel, not by any means a French heel. Some 
women, in their desire to appear appropri- 
ately dressed, wear a low-heeled walking shoe 
with their tailored suits and a French heel 
with their afternoon and evening gowns. This 
practice cannot be carried out without serious 
results, because changing the position of the 
foot weakens the arches, causes considerable 



APPROPRIATE DRESS 6 1 

strain, tires the feet, and frequently causes 
swelling. 

Physicians disagree about the wearing of 
high- and low-heeled shoes. 

It seems logical that a reasonably low heel 
gives greater comfort and is more sensible, but 
the high heels have had the favor of the ma- 
jority for so long a time that they have come 
to be a factor that must be reckoned with. 
High heels are attractive, because they make 
the foot appear smaller, add a little to the 
height, and help a woman to stand straighter 
than she would, perhaps, with low heels. 

Common sense tells us that the low heels are 
better; our pride tells us that the high heels 
look better on us. Then why not strike a 
happy medium and wear a heel that is not too 
high nor too low? 

Heels one and one-half or one and seven- 
eighths inches high cannot do any injury, and 
they are usually more attractive than lower 
heels. The heel height of one's shoes should 
be uniform, so that the feet will always be in 
the same position. 

A woman's hose should match her shoes in 
color, and black hose should be worn with 
black shoes. Unless your dress is white or 
light-colored, do not wear light-colored or 
white hose with dark shoes. 



62 SECRETS OF DISTINCTIVE DRESS 

Sometimes it is advisable to have the foot 
portion of the hose white. In such cases, buy 
hose that have white feet. Do not try to wear 
low shoes with such hose, for the white will 
almost always show and make your feet 
appear ordinary. 

If your shoes have light tops, wear hose to 
match them. But do not wear conspicuous 
hose unless it is with a sports costume. A 
girl playing tennis and wearing a white dress, 
a red tie, and red hose makes a pleasing pic- 
ture. A bathing costume, also, will permit 
the wearing of hose of a color to match the 
trimming color on the costume. 

A young girl on the street in gaudy hose 
attracts undue attention and possibly, unthink- 
ingly, unkind criticism. A gentlewoman 
never attracts attention to her feet or her legs. 
She takes particular pains to have hose of an 
inconspicuous color and entirely in keeping 
with her shoes and costume. 

There is a great difference of opinion on the 
question of silk hose. Many people contend 
that silk hose should not be worn by a woman 
or a girl of limited circumstances, because 
they are a luxury, an extravagance. 

Of course it must be admitted that good 
silk hose cost more than twice as much as lisle. 
Yet silk hose are not an extravagance if they 



APPROPRIATE DRESS 63 

are carefully washed and kept in good repair. 
If they are of good quality (not as thin as net- 
ting) and are properly taken care of, they will 
last a little longer than cotton and lisle hose; 
and, besides, they are more comfortable and 
look ever so much better. 

In recommending silk hose, it is not my in- 
tention to underrate the value of lisle hose, for 
they are very comfortable and economical, and 
many prefer them to silk hose. A woman or a 
girl who is careless of her clothes, who has a 
small income, and who cannot properly care 
for silk hose should not wear them. 

Putting the hose on properly has much to 
do with their wearing possibilities. Try the 
following method : Gather the top of the hose 
over your hand until you have almost reached 
the foot; then slip the foot of the hose over 
your foot, adjust it properly, and pull up the 
leg portion. This prevents pulling of the 
threads, or "runs," which are the bane of all 
silk-stocking devotees. 

Most fastidious women insist upon the seam 
of the hose being directly in the center of the 
calf of the leg and absolutely straight. The 
psychological effect of this care in putting the 
hose on straight is important in itself, for if we 
are careful about such little details we will be 
careful about the more important ones. 



64 SECRETS OF DISTINCTIVE DRESS 



HATS, VEILS, AND GLOVES 

We talk about clothes making a background 
for us, of having our dresses made of a color 
that harmonizes with our individuality, and 
even of having our coat linings of such a color 
that when they are thrown back on our chair 
they add to the background of the picture. 
But do we realize fully the value of the right 
hat — the individual hat, the hat that makes a 
background for our eyes, our face, our hair? 

The greatest dress artists say: "Dress to 
the eyes ; if the eyes are not definite enough in 
color, dress to the hair, not forgetting the con- 
tour of the face." 

We must expect a great deal from our hats. 
They must make a frame for the face. The 
kindliness and good cheer, the spirit of life, 
that our faces express for us must have a fitting 
background. If we are not in our homes, then 
our hats must be intimate enough to make a 
desirable background. 

If plain dresses and plain suits, i. e., tailored 
frocks and suits, are becoming to you, you will 
almost invariably find that tailored hats are 
becoming. 

Pretty-faced girls and women with luxuri- 
ant hair may wear small hats well. Pretty 
faces in which no lines have formed and the 



APPROPRIATE DRESS 65 

kindly face of the mother, with lines that mean 
a very great deal, may also have a small hat 
as a background. But the "in-between" wo- 
man, with lines showing in her face when it 
does not seem quite time for them, should 
wear a hat that has enough brim to over- 
shadow the lines. 

It has been said that the woman who has 
lines in her face should try to have hats with 
dark facings, because a light facing in her hat 
will allow every line to show and make the 
face less attractive. 

Some women can wear an all-white hat 
with a white dress, for the reflection coming 
up from the dress will soften the lines enough 
to make the white hat agreeable and be- 
coming. 

When you are buying a hat, try a number 
on. Look at them from the front, the back, 
and the sides, and study their lines and color- 
ing intelligently. Walk about with the hat on. 
Sometimes, when you are sitting, the hat may 
be very pretty, but when you stand you may 
find that you are too tall or not tall enough for 
that shape of hat. 

Never buy a hat hastily nor without con- 
sidering whether it is becoming to your face, 
whether it is suitable for your hair, or whether 
it is agreeable in color and appropriate for 



66 SECRETS OF DISTINCTIVE DRESS 

wear with the garments, suits, or dresses that 
you have. If the hat is to be worn with some 
particular suit or coat, have that garment on, 
so that exactly the right effect may be attained. 
Remember that much of the smartness of your 
costume depends on your hat. You should 
give it great consideration and be sure that it 
is right for you in every particular. 

At some time you may have been so disap- 
pointed with a certain shape of hat that you 
continually avoid getting a hat of that kind 
again. Perhaps, though, there was some par- 
ticular line or color that made it unbecoming; 
so, when the opportunity presents itself, do not 
hesitate to try on a hat of a similar shape, 
because you may find one that is becoming. 

Another thing to remember is that if you 
gain or lose weight you may have to change 
the shape of your hat. A shape that is desir- 
able for a slender figure is not agreeable for 
a stout one, and the shape that you wore at 
twenty may not be becoming when you are 
thirty or forty. 

Beautiful picture hats, especially those of 
black and dark colors, are wonderful in the 
right place — at a fashionable restaurant, a 
hotel dining room, or an afternoon social func- 
tion — but they are not suitable for business or 
street wear. 



APPROPRIATE DRESS 67 

Faded flowers, bedraggled feathers, and 
crumpled chiffons are not pleasing in hats. 

Veils, like perfume, are an exquisite luxury, 
if they are dainty, delicate, and becoming. 
Beautiful veils can cover a "multitude of 
sins," and rarely are they ugly. 

Veils sometimes seem out of place; at 
other times they seem straggly. However, if 
they are worn for a reason — to enhance the 
beauty of the hat, to give the appearance of a 
more complete toilet, to protect the face, all 
logical reasons — then they are very desirable. 

Always wear veils with care and discrimi- 
nation. They should be of a color and weave 
that you know will add to your attractiveness, 
and they should not be so heavy, unless they 
are for motoring or outing, as to conceal your 
features. 

In purchasing and wearing veils, follow 
fashion dictations as far as is logical, for fre- 
quently very smart effects may be produced 
by the addition of a veil. 

Gloves, romantic, yet necessary articles of 
wear, like dainty handkerchiefs, bespeak the 
nicest niceties of the wearer. Gloves should 
be in accord with the costume always, and — 
always clean and carefully fitted. Fine kid 
gloves are delightful possessions, but they are 
more extravagant than washable kid, lisle, or 



68 SECRETS OF DISTINCTIVE DRESS 

silk. Kid gloves with furs, silk gloves with 
lingerie dresses, is a rule that can be followed 
out with surety. 

THE WEARING OF FURS 

Character seems to be expressed to a very 
great extent in furs. We all seem to know the 
woman who wears beaver, mole, skunk, fox, 
mink, sable, and ermine. Every woman has 
her preference as to fur, and you can usually 
wear the fur that you like best, provided you 
combine it with suitable material or arrange 
the shaping so that it is becoming to you. 

An aristocratic young woman, slender and 
graceful, with hair that is beautifully dressed 
and a gown that has attractive coloring, 
may, if her pocketbook permits, wear ermine. 

Women from thirty to fifty can wear scarfs 
of mole to splendid advantage, especially if it 
is combined with the darkest American-Beauty 
shades or with a color or a material that will 
give life to supplant the lack of color in the 
mole skin. 

Skunk, red fox, and any of the long-haired 
furs should not be worn by any person who is 
not absolutely tidy in every particular. Strag- 
gly hair, irregular skirt and coat lengths, and 
a draggly get-up do not combine well with 
long-haired furs. In such a case, a short- 



APPROPRIATE DRESS 69 

haired, compact fur piece will be more attrac- 
tive, because it will help to give neatness 
rather than emphasize the lack of it. 

Some dress artists say that heads on furs are 
extremely poor taste and should never be 
worn. This is largely a matter of individual 
taste. Personally, I should not enjoy the 
heads, because there is a soft familiarity of 
furs that I like and which, I fear, the animal 
heads might take away. 

Furs are beautiful, and if you wear them in 
the right place with the right effect, they will 
actually make a costume. But when you wear 
them just because you possess them, without 
regard to place or costume, you err against 
one of the fine principles of dress and openly 
insult one of the most beautiful of our dress 
accessories. 

If you possess furs that were not selected 
especially for your requirements and in accord 
with your individuality, do not consider them 
hopeless. If they are good furs, go to a de- 
pendable furrier and try on furs from his 
stock until you find a shape and size that is 
becoming. Then, see what you can do about 
altering your furs to assume a similar shaping. 
Satin of excellent quality and of a color 
that is suitable can very frequently be com- 
bined with fur in a delightful way. 



70 SECRETS OF DISTINCTIVE DRESS 

If your furs are more valuable, and possibly 
more becoming, than you feel your suit will 
be, plan your suit to bring out the beauty of 
the furs. 

Furs should enrich costume, never detract 
from it. They should give evidence of "lux- 
urious warmth" — a very good reason why you 
should not wear them on July Fourth or on 
an August day, unless, of course, you are in a 
climate where the warmth of a soft beautiful 
fur gives comfort in midsummer. 

THE WEARING OF JEWELRY 
Usually, jewelry is given to us; rarely is it 
purchased for our particular requirements. 
Somebody wants to give us something very 
pretty and gives us jewelry that appeals to him 
or to her, seldom taking into consideration 
whether it harmonizes with our individuality 
or not. 

This is a pity, because jewelry is one thing 
that seems convenient to give to those we care 
a great deal for. If we must give jewelry, we 
must use great care in selecting it, so that the 
person who is to receive it can wear it comfort- 
ably and feel that it is appropriate. 

A dear mother whom I know possesses a 
pair of earrings and a lavaliere that would be 
pretty on a girl of eighteen or twenty, but they 



APPROPRIATE DRESS 7 I 

detract so much from her dignity that, to be a 
real friend, you would feel that you should 
tell her of their inappropriateness for her. 
But she treasures them dearly, because they 
are gifts of two sons that she loves very much. 
It is evident that she has never considered 
whether or not she should wear them, but has 
worn them almost continually because her 
loved ones gave them to her. 

I appreciate sentiment so much that I 
should hesitate to tell this mother that she 
should not wear these pieces of jewelry, but in 
conformity with the rules of appropriate dress 
one has to say definitely that she should not. 

It is said that only brilliant women — that 
is, intelligent women who are beautifully 
gowned and handsome both as to face and 
figure — should wear diamonds, because their 
very being should sparkle in company with 
the beautiful stones ; yet the joy that one feels 
in the possession of even one beautiful stone 
seems like a sufficient excuse to warrant the 
wearing of diamonds by every person who can 
afford them. 

But, again, if we are to practice the correct 
rules of dress and apply them persistently to 
ourselves, we must persist in sacrifice, and 
sometimes this means sacrificing the very 
things we like best. To be beautiful, attrac- 



72 SECRETS OF DISTINCTIVE DRESS 

tive, and appropriately dressed is a serious 
undertaking, but you can be all this if you 
make persistency your watchword. 

Many ultrarich women own exquisite jew- 
els, and frequently they wear them because 
they possess them, and not because the jewels 
are appropriate. On the other hand, many do 
wear jewels with due regard to their place and 
decorative value. 

A string of pearls can enhance a soft, lacy 
costume and add a great deal to its attractive- 
ness and individual becomingness. Pearls 
can be worn, too, with exquisite soft velvets 
and satins, but they require a fitting back- 
ground to make them most beautiful. 

I once knew a woman who wore topazes in 
simple plain settings with her brown cos- 
tumes. She had brown hair and brown eyes, 
and the topazes added just enough life to her 
costumes to make them decidedly fetching. 
Another woman I knew wore corals with soft 
gray and another wore amethysts with pink- 
tans and pink-grays, all of which added to 
their attractiveness. The dresses with which 
these jewels were worn were simple in design 
and not overtrimmed, thus giving the jewels 
decorative value — a chance to brighten the 
costumes and to express individuality in a 
delightful way. 



APPROPRIATE DRESS 73 

A graceful string of jet black beads fre- 
quently adds just the right touch to a costume 
that seems a flat mass of color and needs some- 
thing to add smartness to it. Corals and pearl 
beads also may be used for the same purpose, 
but they should be used with a color that they 
either subdue or brighten. 

I want you to understand my meaning here. 
For instance, a turquoise evening gown of 
satin that seems a mass of brilliant color may 
be subdued by the addition of a string of black 
beads that give line to the gown and help to 
quiet the color. On the other hand, black jet 
beads worn with a lusterless black gown will 
brighten it. 

A brooch should not be worn for mere 
adornment. It should have a purpose and be 
used at the termination of the neck line or to 
hold some part of the costume in place. It 
should not be placed on the gown merely be- 
cause you possess it and desire to wear it. 

I recall a sewing class in which we openly 
discussed correct and incorrect dress. After 
having weekly meetings for a year, I felt that 
the entire membership was well informed as 
to correct and incorrect dress, and I was proud 
to meet any member, because each expressed 
the little niceties of dress we had tried to 
instill and cultivate. 



74 SECRETS OF DISTINCTIVE DRESS 

One woman, I remember quite distinctly, 
seemed deeply impressed with what had been 
said about jewels, and, with means at her 
command, insisted on wearing jewelry that 
harmonized with her costumes. She took par- 
ticular pains to harmonize them in color, be- 
cause she seemed to have this point definitely 
in mind, but she entirely lost sight of the shape 
and appropriateness of the jewelry. 

She was a frail creature with little color, 
and we had decided by experiment that deep 
red (burgundy) was the most appropriate 
color for her. She had seen a demonstration 
of a brown-and-topaz combination and was 
thrilled by the beauty of it, so she proceeded 
to buy a very dark-red velvet dress, deep and 
rich in color and beautiful in texture. Then 
she purchased a garnet necklace arranged in 
a heavy gold mounting, the gold taking away 
the beauty of the red velvet and making the 
garnet so hard and unfriendly that it seemed 
to be an absolute stranger to her — a thing we 
should never permit in anything that we wear. 

Our clothes — every stitch, even our hand- 
kerchiefs — should express our individuality, 
express us in the most beautiful way possible. 

The necklace that I have mentioned cost 
considerable money, and it took courage to say 
to my friend : 



APPROPRIATE DRESS 75 

''Don't you think the pearls you have would 
be better for wear with your velvet gown? I 
am sure I should like them better, because they 
would be 'more friendly' to you. They would 
give the softness and whiteness at the neck that 
your gown needs." 

Always remember that the jewelry you wear 
must be worn with consideration, not to make 
you appear as if you were advertising a cheap 
jewelry establishment. 

Always ask yourself: Does the piece of 
jewelry add to the appearance of my gown? 
Does it seem to have a place there? Would 
a person in looking at me see my gown first 
and then find the jewels there as a part of the 
gown, or would the jewels stand out as being 
merely adornment and not a part of the color 
scheme or line effect that I wish my gown to 
express for me? 

I have always been a believer in wearing 
good things, feeling that cheap clothes, cheap 
jewels, cheap anything, express cheapness of 
person and "cheapness of mentality"; and 
rather than have cheap jewels, I would not 
have any. But I have frequently had gowns 
where a little inexpensive brooch, or some- 
times a string of beads, was just the right color, 
size, and shape to add to the beauty of the 
gown and make it seem more complete. 



76 SECRETS OF DISTINCTIVE DRESS 

There are many shops that sell inexpensive 
things that are exquisite in workmanship. 
Frequently, copies of beautiful pieces of jew- 
elry that can be worn during the life of a 
gown can be bought for a reasonable sum, and 
then they can be laid aside for some future 
time without a feeling of loss. 

Of course, if a woman knows that brown, 
gray, purple, white, or black is her particular 
color and she always wears such colors in the 
majority, she frequently can afford to purchase 
jewels that are rare in quality and beautiful 
in design, because she will need so few when 
she holds definitely to one color scheme and 
similar style. 

Another precaution about wearing jewelry : 
Do not wear all the jewelry you possess at one 
time. 

Do not wear silver and gold together, un- 
less they are combined to form a design. 

If the sleeves of your gown are short, and 
you feel that a bracelet will break the length 
of the arm or make it more attractive, no 
doubt it will be just the right thing. If it 
does not really show pleasing improvement, 
do not wear it. 

In wearing rings, make sure that they are 
in accord with the garments you wear and try 
to avoid burdening your fingers with them. 



APPROPRIATE DRESS J J 

Earrings, too, merit consideration. Some- 
times they enhance a costume, emphasize a 
completeness of toilet that is pleasing; at other 
times they are so out of place as to appear 
almost barbaric. 

It is not uncommon to see a young woman 
wearing all at one time a watch pinned to her 
blouse, several rings, from one to three brace- 
lets, and a string of beads. Such a sight tells 
you that she is not practicing the rule of elimi- 
nation or applying the laws of harmonious 
dress to herself. 

THE WEARING OF FLOWERS 
Flowers, "exquisite creatures" that they are, 
are beautiful always ; but there are some cases 
where certain flowers, especially when worn 
by individuals, are more beautiful than others 
and a certain combination of flowers is more 
pleasing and expresses more individuality 
than another. 

A young woman for whom I have the great- 
est admiration always plans the most unique 
color schemes in flowers that it has ever been 
my pleasure to see. It may be one rose in a 
vase or one rose on a gown, but it is just the 
right rose in size and color in exactly the right 
place, and it is more effective than a dozen 
would be when incorrectly used. 



78 SECRETS OF DISTINCTIVE DRESS 

Once I saw this woman, whose eyes are as 
dark as night itself and whose hair is a very 
dark and beautiful brown, dressed in a dark- 
brown velvet gown simple in line, with just a 
plain piece of real lace in cream color at the 
neck coming down in a long line in the front. 
At the waist line, she wore one American 
Beauty rose with three green leaves. I wish 
you could picture how the long stem of the 
rose accentuated the long line of the collar and 
how the bit of color supplied that delightful 
touch which made the frock appear far above 
the ordinary. 

If you are small in stature, trim in figure, 
and attractive in face, you can wear sweet- 
heart roses, Killarney roses, rosebuds, lilies of 
the valley, or any exquisite little bouquet made 
of dainty flowers. But if you are large in 
stature, dignified in posture, you should be 
very careful to wear exactly the right flower 
of exactly the right size in exactly the right 
place. 

I know a tall girl who wears tobacco brown 
a very great deal. One time you will see her, 
probably at an afternoon function, wearing a 
corsage bouquet of violets, in the center of 
which she has placed a beautiful marigold, 
thus giving just the life to the costume that 
the purple of the violets fail to give. Again 



APPROPRIATE DRESS 



79 



you may see her at a fashion opening or a 
luncheon with one beautiful yellow chrysan- 
themum on her brown tailored suit. One 
thing, though, I have always noticed is that no 
matter what color of flower she wears, she has 
just a harmonizing fleck of the "yellow-gold" 
to enchance the beauty of the brown of her 
costume. 

One day I saw a beautiful one-piece gown 
in a select shop. It was a reseda-green crepe. 
The lines were as unpretentious as could be, 
but at the left-side front was a large fawn- 
brown velvet-and-linen rose with a long 
dark-green stem, the rose itself measuring 
possibly three and one-half inches in diameter. 
Peeking out were three little buds with just 
a bit of chamois color, and at the neck was a 
collar of chamois color. The gown was won- 
derful. Why? Because it was simple, and 
each color was exquisitely in tune with the 
other. 

Many beautiful color effects can be pro- 
duced with artificial flowers, and such flowers 
are so simple and easy to make from bits of 
silk and ribbon and frequently so reasonable 
in price at the stores that when they are in 
fashion, you, as well as every other woman, 
may, if you choose, possess a suitable bouquet 
for every gown or suit. 



80 SECRETS OF DISTINCTIVE DRESS 

But you must exercise care in selecting just 
the right color, just the right size, and just the 
right number for your bouquet. Sometimes, 
one wee bud or blossom is all that is necessary. 

One time I saw a large woman with a beau- 
tiful beaver coat wearing one tiny white rose 
near her face, on the lapel. It was placed 
correctly and was of a suitable size to soften 
the coat around the face and give a desirable 
individual touch. 

A prominent business woman of my ac- 
quaintance who wears severely tailored frocks 
— usualy a conventional blue serge — always 
uses a little stiff tailored rose or bud of some 
kind to lend color to her costume. She usually 
wears long white collars, and at the belt or on 
the shoulder she has a rose of very dark red — 
darker than the American Beauty — and some- 
times this is backed up with a silver metal 
cloth, giving a stiff little flower that is in keep- 
ing with the tailored costume, but with just 
the touch of color that she feels she needs. 

In wearing flowers, remember that some 
flowers, such as the old-fashioned garden flow- 
ers, are appropriate for summer dresses. 
Chrysanthemums, violets, and asters are ap- 
propriate to wear with suits and tailored gar- 
ments. Orchids frequently are worn with 
suits, but they are not considered absolutely in 



APPROPRIATE DRESS 



good taste because of their frailty. For this 
reason, they are more frequently desired for 
wear with a beautiful evening gown or an 
afternoon frock. There are times, however, 
when orchids are beautiful with a suit. I re- 
member of having seen a lavender orchid cor- 
sage bouquet worn with an exquisite gray 
velvet suit, not slate-gray nor mouse-gray, but 
an in-between gray, and it was just the right 
thing for that particular suit. 



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90 SECRETS OF DISTINCTIVE DRESS 

DRESSING APPROPRIATELY 
So that you may form a more definite idea 
of what may be worn to advantage for busi- 
ness and outing and in the home, as well as 
what may be worn at special functions, I have 
arranged several guides in the form of tables. 
These tables are intended simply to assist you 
in planning for yourself, and if you refer to 
them persistently and correctly interpret their 
contents you will derive much benefit from 
them. 

The one relating to special functions is in 
the form of an all-season chart, because there 
is not a great difference between the several 
types of garments. In winter, heavier-weight 
materials and more brilliant colors are used 
than in spring and summer; also, more gar- 
ments are provided, because, as a rule, there 
is more social life in the autumn and winter 
seasons. 

What you should wear to the theater de- 
pends largely on the seat you are to occupy. 
It is perfectly correct to wear the same gar- 
ments and accessories as is provided for In- 
formal Theater if a theater box is to be 
occupied; and it is very much better taste to 
do so if the trip to the theater is not made in a 
private conveyance. 



APPROPRIATE DRESS 91 

Rather than slavishly follow the prevailing 
mode, you will find that the most beautiful, 
and decidedly the most practical, evening 
clothes are those which are designed to suit 
you, because they can be used for more than 
one season. 

Formal dress should depend on the beauty 
of fabric and color, rather than on intricate 
style. Informal evening dress is best when 
made of inexpensive fabrics, with more re- 
gard to design, for such garments are subject 
to harder usage than the more formal evening 
gowns, and as they are worn of tener they have 
shorter life. 

If your circumstances are moderate, one 
evening wrap of conservative design, color, 
and fabric should serve you at least two years, 
and for all seasons except summer. 

Garments of unlined silk or of knitted or 
crocheted silk or wool are acceptable for sum- 
mer. 

If you are not accustomed to attending many 
formal affairs and attend more afternoon than 
evening functions, you should select an after- 
noon coat of neutral tone or very dark shade, 
and a style and fabric equally suitable for 
afternoon and evening wear. 



92 SECRETS OF DISTINCTIVE DRESS 

CULTIVATING INTELLIGENCE IN DRESS 

I am giving here a few suggestions that, 
although seemingly commonplace, are of 
such practical value that they must be con- 
sidered where appropriate or harmonious 
dress is concerned. 

A dress may be ever so beautiful, yet, unless 
the individuality of the wearer and the acces- 
sories of the costume are in harmony with it, 
it will undoubtedly prove to be an expensive 
failure. Some women fail to realize the im- 
portance of this detail, thinking that if their 
frock is attractive the matter is ended, whereas 
an attractive frock is only one essential of good 
dress. 

It would seem that, in a general way at 
least, nearly all women know that there is a 
law of eternal fitness in dress; yet not all have 
the taste and fine discrimination to apply the 
law unto themselves, few take the care that 
they should in selecting material suitable for 
certain occasions, and fewer still have any 
appreciation of color and style in design un- 
less they are specially trained in this direction. 

It is true that no woman should wear ma- 
terials of a color, design, or fashion that will 
in any way tend to exaggerate any marked 
characteristics or pecularities she may possess. 



APPROPRIATE DRESS 93 

On the other hand, beauty of form and feature 
is generally sufficiently apparent not to neces- 
sitate calling attention to it by wearing 
garments that overemphasize these good quali- 
ties. Rather, an effort should be made to pre- 
serve the naturalness of these gifts and to show 
them in their greatest simplicity without mak- 
ing them brazenly conspicuous. 

To dress correctly, you must have regard 
for the three forces of nature, namely, size, 
motion, and attraction. There is a fitness of 
sentiment in dress that requires the exercise 
of care in the adaptation of style to the indi- 
vidual, holding ease, grace, and individuality 
as superior to all other considerations, and re- 
membering always that beauty of form in 
dress is produced by the artistic combination 
of graceful curves growing out of each other, 
the lesser from the greater, the harmonious 
application of trimming, and the correct com- 
bination of colors, all of which tend to pro- 
duce a oneness of effect that is pleasing to the 
eye and that gives poise and dignity to the 
wearer. 

In material, design, and the arrangement 
of its parts, the main structure of a dress 
should be free from all unnecessary additions 
that will in any way interfere with its beauty 
of outline or gracefulness. Accessories should 



94 SECRETS OF DISTINCTIVE DRESS 

be judiciously applied, as if growing from the 
most dominant parts or lines of a costume and 
thus emphasizing them. If this thought is 
made to prevail throughout the trimming of 
a garment, it is possible to add force to the 
leading lines and develop a very harmonious 
display of coloring or line that will tastefully 
relieve any monotony of effect that might be 
characteristic of a severely plain dress. 

As I have mentioned before, a piece of jew- 
elry, such as a brooch or a necklace, will add 
much to the attractiveness of a bodice by giv- 
ing tone or relieving plainness ; yet these same 
ornaments may detract from the effect sought 
and even completely spoil it. 

Effects produced by harmony are much 
more pleasing and powerful than those pro- 
duced by exaggerations, which at first shock 
and then oftentimes blunt one's appreciation 
of the purely artistic. 

Women who have a strict regard for dress 
and ornament will avoid any inharmonious 
contrasts, and will never regard dress as a 
trivial or unimportant question. Dress is all 
important because it portrays character and 
individuality; therefore, to appear at your 
very best at all times, you must give due re- 
gard to appropriateness, comfort, graceful- 
ness, and harmony. 



APPROPRIATE DRESS 95 

To many, "French woman" is just another 
way of saying "the well-dressed woman." We 
marvel at her becoming way of dressing, no 
matter what her station or what the occasion 
— how she seems to carry a harmonious 
thought throughout her costume; and, yet, 
knowing this characteristic of the French wo- 
man, that she does suggest that which all 
women strive for — a pleasing appearance — 
we neglect to follow as closely as we should 
the thought she inspires. 

Some claim that to dress well is a natural 
gift, and, to an extent, this is true. Neverthe- 
less, women who are born without that quality 
which is so elusive and hard to define, and 
which is commonly called taste, need not de- 
spair, for with patience, study, observation, 
and application a very good idea as to the 
correctness and appropriateness of garments 
can be acquired. 

Some women enthuse over certain colors. 
They want them, they like to have them, and 
yet such colors may be the most trying of all 
colors for them. A woman possesses com- 
mendable control when she can deny herself 
the colors she likes best and wear those which 
are best suited to her type. 

A good idea of the fitness of a color scheme 
in costume may be had from the following: 



96 SECRETS OF DISTINCTIVE DRESS 

There were once two schoolgirls who 
looked very much alike. They were of the 
same size and had the same coloring and gen- 
eral outline of feature. The mother of one 
often wondered why her daughter did not 
look so well dressed as the other girl. So one 
day she asked permission from the mother of 
the girl who looked very smart and attractive 
to copy her daughter's dresses, stating that she 
would use another color so that there would 
not seem to be such a sameness in the gar- 
ments. The girl who appeared smart and 
attractive wore an entire suit that was in abso- 
lute harmony; her accessories, her shoes, her 
hat, her coat — all were in accord with her 
dress. Thus, one suit that she wore was sim- 
ple in line and of smooth surface — brown 
material with a soft, cream blouse — and as 
accessories she wore a brown belt, brown 
gloves, brown shoes, and a cream-white straw 
hat trimmed with brown poppies. The other 
girl's mother, in her endeavor to have her 
daughter appear as attractive, duplicated this 
suit in blue, bought a light straw hat trimmed 
with red poppies, made blouses of various 
colors, and used gray gloves. Thus she 
ignored absolutely any thought of harmony, 
and while her daughter's things were more ex- 
pensive they were not effective. They lacked 



APPROPRIATE DRESS 97 

distinctiveness — discrimination ; they lacked 
the well-dressed woman's knowledge and ex- 
pression of color harmony. 

In such failures as this lies a very good les- 
son — in fact, one of the secrets of dressing 
becomingly. 

In every case, you must have a definite idea 
as to the extent of your wardrobe when you 
attempt to replenish it. If you know that 
brown and blue are your most becoming 
colors, you should decide which of these is best 
suited to the occasion or to the season and 
stick to this color, and, if possible, have acces- 
sories to correspond. 

This way of dressing will also prove very 
economical if it is adhered to closely, for one 
pair of shoes, one pair of gloves, and one hat 
will often suffice for many occasions. 

If your purse will not permit of more than 
one complete costume and you find that tail- 
ored clothes fit into your needs best, stick to 
them. Do not change over to fluffy things 
and then try to combine plain and fluffy 
clothes and expect to get a harmonious effect. 

An overelaborate hat will spoil a tailored 
street suit, as will also shoes that are meant 
for indoor or party wear. Heavy shoes are no 
more in keeping with an afternoon frock than 
are street gloves or a tailored hat. 



98 SECRETS OF DISTINCTIVE DRESS 



A CLOTHES TRIUMPH 

A physician with whom I am well ac- 
quainted — a capable, conscientious woman, 
skilled in her profession — had been so ab- 
sorbed in her work that she never once con- 
sidered the appropriateness of her clothing. 
This worked a handicap for her, because many 
people said that while she had demonstrated 
that she was a capable physician she was too 
frumpy in dress to impress one with her in- 
telligence. 

I like the doctor, and I appreciated her situ- 
ation; also, I realized, when just hinting at 
the subject, that she, too, had been conscious 
of it for years. 

She said, "I should like to be your patient 
and have you diagnose my case and plan 
clothes for me, just as I would diagnose your 
case and prescribe for you." 

I agreed and "prescribed" clothes that I felt 
suited her exactly. She was deeply interested, 
and with her full cooperation the task was de- 
lightful. 

She was as elated as a child when her asso- 
ciates remarked about the improvement in her 
clothes, and she told me that in less than two 
months there was a marked difference in the 
attitude of people toward her. Even the 



APPROPRIATE DRESS 99 

nurses in the hospitals had more admiration 
for her. 

She realized that her word had more 
weight, more authority, even in her own 
household, and remarked that people who had 
not asked for her services before had called 
her in to administer to them. 

She called it her clothes triumph, and said, 
"I have always been able to see that a well 
body and a well mind could go a long way 
toward making a person successful, but I 
never realized for an instant what a great fac- 
tor clothes are until I had had this definite 
lesson." 

The experience related occurred many 
years ago. This doctor is one of the best- 
dressed women in the prominent city in which 
she practices. She pays capable designers to 
plan her clothes, so that they fit her needs ex- 
actly, express her individuality, and are en- 
tirely in keeping with her position in her 
community. 



CHAPTER IV 
BECOMING DRESS 

TRUTHS YOUR MIRROR TELLS — THE PROCESS OF ELIMI- 
NATION LOOK YOUR BEST ALWAYS — CLOTHES FOR 

YOUR TYPE. 

It takes very brave and sincere friends to be 
frank with us regarding the things that are 
becoming to us and those which are not. What 
woman likes to be told truthfully that a dress 
she has labored over or paid more money for 
than she can afford is not becoming? Yet, 
many times, because we have not given the 
necessary time and study to the close relation 
of clothes to our individuality and personality, 
a dress we have dreamed of, labored over, and 
spent more for than we possibly should is a 
distracting failure! 

When I was a child, I read a story about a 
little girl who had never looked in a mirror. 
Her hair was always tousled, and her dresses 
were always on awry and always soiled. To 
tell this little girl about her carelessness of 
herself had no effect until her teacher gave 
her a mirror. Then the teacher curled the 

101 



102 SECRETS OF DISTINCTIVE DRESS 

little girl's hair, washed her face, and tidied 
her dress, and let her look in the mirror again. 
This told the child precisely what she should 
know — that she could be more attractive if 
she tried. 

The value of a mirror in telling us of our 
shortcomings in dress is something many wo- 
men do not appreciate. Do not stand before 
the mirror and comb your hair just to get the 
locks in place. Stand before it to study the 
contour of your face — use a triple mirror, if 
possible — and comb your hair to harmonize 
with the shape of your face and with your 
expression. 

When you are planning a new dress, put on 
every dress in your wardrobe and analyze, in 
front of the mirror, the good points and bad 
points of each. In this way you will discern 
the becoming and the unbecoming points of 
each dress and so avoid mistakes, for they are 
mistakes. Anything, that interferes with the 
harmonious costuming of your individual 
type is a mistake. 

It frequently is said that girls in shops and 
offices dress more becomingly and in better 
taste than some women who spend three if not 
ten times as much for their clothes as does the 
office girl. 

Why is this? 



BECOMING DRESS 103 

The woman of means may be attracted by 
a new fashion or a new color, and she buys it, 
regardless of whether or not it is becoming to 
her individual type. 

The office girl cannot afford to buy the first 
dress she sees. She must select one or possibly 
two from several hundred, and, seeing the 
many dresses that she does each day, she, by 
a process of elimination, finds something that 
is appropriate for herself and, as a result, is 
pleasing to her associates. 

Put your mirror in a good light, away from 
any shadows. Then study your face and fig- 
ure, your eyes, your hair, and your com- 
plexion, so that you will know the truth. 
Mentally resolve that you will not buy any- 
thing that interferes with your determination 
to dress becomingly. This at first may be as 
hard to practice as a diet for obesity, but it is 
worth the time and effort it takes if you expect 
to attain individuality and personal attrac- 
tiveness. 

LOOK YOUR BEST ALWAYS 

If long lines in a dress are becoming to you, 
wear them; do not try to get an "all-ruffles- 
and-around" frock when you know that ruffles 
make you look stout and that you lack poise 
and grace in them. 



104 SECRETS OF DISTINCTIVE DRESS 

A much respected woman who holds a 
prominent position in a large establishment 
did not for a long time realize the necessity 
of becoming clothes. Her clothes were se- 
lected without any thought, and were rarely 
appropriate or becoming. One day one of her 
associates told her she did herself an injustice 
by the haphazard way she selected her clothes, 
and suggested that she find a dressmaker who 
would study her type and design for her 
dresses that would express her individuality. 
The wisdom of this advice appealed to her 
and resulted in a visit to a reliable dressmaker. 
Later, she appeared at the office in a delight- 
ful one-piece blue-serge frock that made her 
look twenty pounds lighter and ten years 
younger. 

She laughs about it now, and says that be- 
fore she had been at her desk a half hour, 
seven of her associates had told her they had 
never before seen her look so attractive. The 
foreman of the printery, who had known her 
and worked with her a number of years, came 
in and asked : 

"Are you going away?" 

"Why, no. Why?" she inquired. 

"Well, I just had to ask, for I never saw 
you down here before with your 'Sunday dress' 
on." 



BECOMING DRESS 105 

So, you see, our associates do notice; and 
when we realize how much benefit we enjoy 
from being becomingly dressed, then we know 
that they, too, must appreciate seeing us in 
harmony with our surroundings. 

Not long ago, a business man sent out for 
three girls who were engaged in the same line 
of work, and who seemed equally capable. 
He talked to them, and for promotion he se- 
lected a girl who wore a very plain but be- 
coming and practical dress. Some one asked 
him why, and he replied : 

"Well, she just seemed to fit into my needs. 
I know you thought I should choose Miss 
Blank, but she was too flamboyant. Her hair 
is too frumpy and she wears too much jewelry 
to suit me." 

"What was wrong with the other girl ? She 
has been here a little longer, you know." 

"I don't just know," was the answer, "but 
the girl I selected will work out, I'm sure of 
that." 

Later in the morning I had an opportunity 
to see the "other" girl, who was both pretty 
and capable. One glance told me that a soiled 
shirtwaist and a piece of gum had kept her 
from her opportunity. 



I06 SECRETS OF DISTINCTIVE DRESS 



CLOTHES FOR YOUR TYPE 

Every woman and every girl should select 
costumes in absolute accord with her type; 
that is, in accord with her mentality, her en- 
vironment, her duties, her pastimes, her color- 
ing, her height, and her plumpness or thinness. 

When the time is at hand to consider select- 
ing, buying, or making clothes, put your whole 
mind on the problem. Ask yourself: Is it 
the correct thing for me? Is the color right? 
Are lines and the material right for my needs? 
Does it harmonize with other things I 
own? No matter whether it is hat, gown, 
coat, shoes, or purse, this last question should 
be asked, and then, after it is analyzed and 
found safe from every other point of view, do 
not select it unless it suits your type. 

If you are attractive with buoyancy, express 
life and personal charm, and have a graceful 
body, wear clothes that seem to be overly 
modest, subdued, quiet, but simple, and ex- 
press excellent taste. 

A woman who has charm of personality and 
grace of figure needs but soft, subdued, incon- 
spicuous clothing. By its simplicity and 
quietness, she may hold fast that charm which 
is so elusive and so easily covered up or 
"shooed away" by flamboyant dress. 



BECOMING DRESS 107 

A beautiful painting expressing life, with 
soft, exquisite coloring, has its beauty empha- 
sized by a frame so simple that it is not even 
noticed by you while you "drink in" the beauty 
of the picture. And so it must be with the 
charming, vivacious girl or woman. But, re- 
member, it takes more study, more work, more 
effort, to make a simple frame, a simple gown, 
beautiful than it does a fussy one, for you can 
keep on adding and adding to the others until 
you have a mass of construction. But try to 
eliminate and you will quickly see that elimi- 
nation should have been begun at the moment 
the garment was conceived and carried out 
faithfully throughout the development. 

To bring out simplicity of dress success- 
fully means that the process of elimination 
must be begun before the material is selected. 
Use only just what is right, and then let each 
line of the garment express individuality, not 
conspiracy against the line that joins it. 

I recently had occasion to study the types 
right in my own offices. One day, one of the 
girls, who is attractive with buoyancy, and 
who is very close to me in my work, wore a 
dress that made her look broad-shouldered, 
short-waisted, and long from the waist line to 
the skirt hem. I thought about her dress sev- 
eral times, as I really had not been conscious 



108 SECRETS OF DISTINCTIVE DRESS 

of her clothes before, her personality having 
always dominated them entirely. Then I de- 
cided that the "little blue dress with its indefi- 
nite waist line and girlish collar" was the kind 
of dress for her type. 

The next day this girl came to me saying, 
"Can you spare me a moment just for myself? 
I want to ask you about a little office dress. I 
have selected some pictures that I believe you 
will like." 

We looked them over and found the dress 
that suited her particularly. It seemed just 
the thing, a beautiful frame for the vivacious- 
ness expressed in her brightly lighted face and 
buoyant step. It was a modest little frock, to 
be made of dark-blue smooth-surface cloth, 
with a white collar that was long in the front 
and round and sort of "Dutchy" in the back, 
to give a youthful effect across the shoulders. 

Deciding upon that dress set me thinking 
of each girl who came to my office that day, 
and I could not resist making mental notes of 
their costumes. 

One girl came, so demure and shy and slight 
in figure (she is always so meek that I feel I 
must give her immediate consideration lest she 
run away). For her, the little blue frock 
would not do at all. I noticed that her dress 
was particularly becoming. It was deep red, 



BECOMING DRESS I09 

nearer a burgundy, but just red enough to give 
a pink flush to a face so fair that it was almost 
pallid. The dress was simple, but the lines 
very interesting. I turned back my thought 
clock just for a moment and remembered that 
when I first saw her she wore a pretty 
dark-red sweater that was "different" and de- 
cidedly becoming, and I remembered very 
well just how it was knitted, emphasizing that 
she realized, as all women should, the impor- 
tance of individuality in her dress. Even in 
her sweater she had secured interesting lines 
that were expressive of her. 

The next one to come was one full of life, 
of vim, and petite in face and figure. To ex- 
press her type, she needs clothes that are smart, 
that have "snap" to them. She is able to wear 
Dame Fashion's most extreme creations, and 
wear them well. You will be able to picture 
her better when I tell you that one time, when 
she was helping to dress a model for a fashion 
exhibition, one of the manikins put on a smart 
hat in such a lackadaisical way that it looked 
positively dowdy. This little "vim" girl 
walked up to her, and, without even thinking, 
took hold of the hat, tilted it slightly, brought 
it down over her forehead, and said : 

"To be truly smart, you must always put 
your hat on 'with a splash'." 



IIO SECRETS OF DISTINCTIVE DRESS 

A young woman expressing dignity in her 
manner and dress came into my office next. 
She was wearing a black soft-silk dress simple 
in design and having a white collar so spot- 
lessly clean that it seemed to bear out the dig- 
nity of the wearer. Her genuine smile and 
womanliness seemed, if possible, to be over- 
emphasized by the simplicity of her costume. 

Each year that we live, we should grow and 
develop with experience, and we will if we 
are receptive and interested and grateful for 
the privilege of living. If we are successful, 
we must acquire poise and outwardly express 
our intelligence. These two qualities produce 
dignity, and as we acquire dignity in manner 
we show it in our dress. 

A woman of forty, on the street or in the 
office, cannot under any circumstances wear 
the same type of blouses, shoes, and hats that 
a young girl can. A great many women have 
a wrong idea about this, and feel that to ap- 
pear young — and where is the woman who has 
not this desire? — they must wear youthful 
clothes. This is a grave mistake. 

If you are forty or more, remember that in 
wearing clothes that are too youthful for you, 
you lose your background and you have noth- 
ing to aid you in concealing the age that your 
face and figure evidence. 



BECOMING DRESS III 



A woman who has been going to business 
for five years will always display better taste 
in dress than one who is in her first business 
year. Why? Because she has learned from 
experience that she cannot, from a money-and- 
time point of view, wear frivolous clothes. 

My advice to you, no matter what your type 
may be, is this: Wear nothing that attracts 
more than your personality, for then the value 
of you would be lost. 

One time, under a picture in a magazine, 
I read this inscription: "It seems so funny to 
look back at the styles. They are always so 
misfit after they have gone by." 

I thought over these words a considerable 
time, then I realized that to a very great ex- 
tent they are true. Clothes are many times 
put together without definite thought, with- 
out regard for type, and when the immediate 
time of their wearing has passed, they are 
nothing short of grotesque. 

In reasoning this out further, I took from 
my bookcase several volumes on historic dress 
and looked over the pictures. Some of the 
costumes were beautiful. Those which were 
beautiful would be just as attractive today as 
they were the day they were worn. I then 
thought of women whom I knew whose clothes 
will live. 



112 SECRETS OF DISTINCTIVE DRESS 

My mind saw a vision of Mary Pickford — 
Mary Pickford, one of the most successfully 
dressed artists of this age. I say most success- 
fully, because Mary Pickford makes her 
clothes express youth in every line — youth that 
makes her and her work a wonderful triumph. 

The pictures in which Mary Pickford's 
costumes have a prominent part will live for 
an indefinite time because of the simplicity, 
quaintness, and charm that is carried out to 
the minutest detail in every one of them. She 
never follows a definite fad or fancy, but se- 
lects clothes that are becoming to her indi- 
viduality — to her type — clothes that are in 
keeping with the parts she plays. 

We play a part in every-day life, just as 
Mary Pickford plays on the screen; but often 
we do not realize that we have a part — a part 
in dressing appropriately and becomingly for 
everything we do, so that we will make a pic- 
ture that is pleasing to all who come in contact 
with us — a picture that will long remain in the 
thoughts of our friends. 



MARY PICKFORD 

Whose clothes express the charm of youth 









L 

1 ) oaoriW 




Photo by Hartsook 



CHAPTER V 
YOUR COLOR 

A STUDY OF COLOR — THE COLOR FAMILY — COLOR NAMES 
— DEVELOPMENT OF COLOR SENSE COLOR CHARAC- 
TERISTICS AND COMBINATIONS — SELECTING YOUR 
COLOR — COLORS FOR VARIOUS TYPES. 

I am going to talk to you about color — your 
color — in this chapter. A lesson in color is 
interesting and helpful. The very principles 
of distinctive dress embrace color, lines, and 
fabric, and one should never underestimate 
the important part they play in the matter of 
successful costuming. 

Manufacturers and shopkeepers agree that 
a certain design may be very successful in a 
certain color and fabric but an absolute fail- 
ure in another. Therefore, to use colors pleas- 
ingly and blend them harmoniously, one must 
understand them. 

It is a recognized fact among salespeople 
that color is what first attracts a customer's 
attention, particularly in wearing apparel. 
The color of a gown or a suit is invariably 
decided before the kind or quality of fabric 
is considered. 

113 



114 SECRETS OF DISTINCTIVE DRESS 

Color expresses and signifies emotions, both 
physical and mental, a fact that may be veri- 
fied by looking to nature, to the changes of 
color brought about by the changing seasons. 
Thus, the green of spring denotes freshness, 
youth, purity, and hope; the brilliant, glow- 
ing colors of summer are symbols of vigorous, 
ardent motherhood; the somber tones of 
autumn portray the richness and beauty of a 
successful maturity; and winter with its 
brown-gray trees, gray skies, and snowy white- 
ness, typifies the graciousness and tolerance 
of age. 

Again color has been called the "music of 
light." The significance of this expression 
may be readily grasped by persons who have 
learned to see and to use color intelligently. 
Thus, the fundamental, or foundation, colors 
may be likened to the notes of a musical in- 
strument — a piano, for instance. Both the 
variations and harmonious combination of 
color are easily compared to the harmonies 
produced on the piano by a skilful, studied 
combination of the notes of a musical scale. 
Likewise, the light shades, the incidental or 
indefinite qualities of color, may be compared 
or considered as would these same values in a 
musical composition, grouped to produce a 
pleasing sound or a pleasing spectacle. 



YOUR COLOR 115 

You may study color in two general ways. 

One way is by association — that is, by be- 
coming so familiar with the various color 
combinations from actual observation as to be 
able to tell beforehand what the general effect 
will be. This knowledge is generally obtained 
by observing and associating with objects 
whose chief beauty lies in their coloring. 

The other way is by studying the laws and 
principles governing harmonious combina- 
tions that have been formulated by persons 
who have made a special study of this subject. 

By practicing the former method you may 
develop a fine sense of color; but without any 
theoretical knowledge the color combination 
will be limited to the copying of certain pleas- 
ing color effects that may be observed in art or 
in nature. 

Once the laws and principles of color are 
clearly fixed in your mind, the combining of 
colors to bring out the best effects in dress can 
be done with confidence, and it is work that 
will grow more fascinating the more deeply 
you enter into it. 

The practical application of the theory of 
color has not kept pace with many of the other 
branches of art and industry. This is not be- 
cause its study has not been persistently and 
successfully followed by scientists, but because 



H6 SECRETS OF DISTINCTIVE DRESS 

those of their investigations which have been 
made available for the artizan are looked 
upon as being of doubtful value for practical 
purposes. 

It is a common idea that the faculty of so 
combining colors as to produce artistic results 
is less a question of science than of a certain 
inborn taste, and that unless one possesses this 
peculiar gift it is of little use for him or her 
to attempt any color combinations. 

That certain persons possess a decided taste 
for color, or, as it is commonly termed, "an eye 
for color," is beyond question. Parallel cases 
are found in the field of music, where certain 
individuals have a most pronounced gift for 
placing chords and memorizing melodies. 
But a lack of these particular talents in either 
field will not prevent you from gaining satis- 
factory results. 

THE COLOR FAMILY 

There are three primary colors: red, blue, 
and yellow. 

Some noted artists in working with them 
said there should be seven colors, all the colors 
of the rainbow: purple (violet), indigo, blue, 
green, yellow, orange, and red. 

A close study of Fig. 2 will show first the 
three primary colors; and then, by the com- 



YOUR COLOR 117 

bining of these three colors, how other colors, 
called secondary colors, are produced. 

In Fig. 1, I am showing you a scale of 
colors with red, yellow, and blue — 1, 3, and 5 
— as a base and with the secondary colors, 
orange, green, and violet — 2, 4, and 6. These 
colors may be further identified by R for red, 
O for orange, Y for yellow, G for green, B for 
blue, and V for violet. 

To know color, you should first become 
thoroughly familiar with the three primary 
colors : red, yellow, and blue. Then you 
should learn how these may be combined to 
make the seven colors. Thus, red and yellow, 
two colors, make orange, a third color; yellow 
and blue, two colors, make green, a third 
color; blue and red make violet; and red, yel- 
low, and blue make indigo, which is the only 
one of the combinations that is not considered 
as a secondary color. 

Again, go back to Fig. 1. Think of the scale 
as cylindrical in form, as though you had it 
cut out and were holding it up in your hand 
as a circle. You will see then clearly that the 
connecting hues between red and violet are 
omitted. 

Consider red as your base. There are two 
kinds of red, red-yellow and red-blue. (The 
three red-blue colors, or shades, between red 



Il8 SECRETS OF DISTINCTIVE DRESS 

and violet are omitted from the scale through 
necessity of the black background. They are, 
however, red-red-violet, red-violet, red-violet- 
red, and should be considered in connection 
with the study of this scale.) Red-yellow is 
red in combination with a smaller quantity of 
yellow. Red-blue is red in combination with 
a smaller quantity of blue. The first color 
mentioned is the predominating color. 

Next, consider yellow as your base. Yellow 
in combination with a small amount of red 
gives yellow-orange; in combination with a 
small amount of blue, yellow-green. Blue 
with a little red gives blue : violet; blue with a 
little yellow gives blue-green. 

Study the color scale. Be sure that you 
understand first the three colors, then the 
seven. Then fix in your mind definitely that 
from these colors emanate all other colors. 

Red extends two ways on the scale, into blue 
and into yellow. The colors extending to a 
point half way between red and blue and half 
way between red and yellow would come in 
the family of red, because they have red as a 
base. But to you, a woman, it would seem 
unfair to class all these beautiful shades and 
tints of red as red, although from a fine sense 
of color they are. You do not think of pink, 
flesh, orange, and even russet as red, yet they 



YOUR COLOR 119 

are of the same family, the same as blue-violet 
and blue-green are of the family of blue. 

All the beautiful tones and hues of color 
should be appreciated. 

It is very necessary in order to appreciate 
colors fully that you should know about color 
tones. Tones are developed by the addition 
of black for shades and white for tints. 

It is necessary, too, that you should have a 
clear idea of hue, and this is shown in Fig. 1, 
which is really a scale of spectrum hues. If 
to a color is added a small amount of another 
color, a change in hue is produced. Thus, a 
little orange added to red gives red-red- 
orange, a hue of red. It is the hue of a color 
that often makes it becoming or unbecoming, 
a point that is well worth remembering. 

When a color is suggested as becoming to 
you, make sure that you understand from what 
basic color it came. You might be able to 
wear, for instance, red-violet, which would be 
a soft plum color, but you may not have 
enough color and vivaciousness to wear blue- 
violet. You must see and realize that there 
are two distinct kinds of violet color, just as 
there are two kinds of blues, two greens, two 
yellows, two oranges, and two reds, and think 
of them in two colors, not just as blue, green, 
red, and violet. 



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122 SECRETS OF DISTINCTIVE DRESS 

A woman whom I know well, whose eyes 
are brown and whose hair is red-brown, can 
wear any of the yellow or orange browns and 
can wear green-yellow perfectly, but blue- 
green gives her a lifeless, tired look, demon- 
strating that life in the color, when a definite 
color is used, is required for her particular 
type. 

This same woman wears dark blue well, for 
the reason that there is no interference from 
the color of her frock, and her eyes, hair, and 
complexion dominate over the dark blue and 
supply that which the blue-green color tends 
to "kill." 

In the table shown on pages 120 and 121, I 
have arranged a large number of color com- 
binations that will serve to guide you in assem- 
bling colors. This table may be used freely, 
and while it does not cover all known colors 
you will find that it has sufficient combinations 
to simplify the selection of colors for dress. 

COLOR NAMES 
To obtain a good knowledge of the various 
color names that are applied to materials for 
dress, you will make no mistake in referring 
to the color cards issued from time to time by 
dealers in such materials, as well as by textile 
manufacturers and dyers. 



YOUR COLOR 123 

So many of these cards have been issued and 
so many different names have been applied to 
colors that are alike that an attempt at stand- 
ardizing the various colors has been made 
by various concerns that have united to form 
what is officially called The Textile Color 
Card Association of the United States, Incor- 
porated. 

This association has issued cards that should 
eventually prove valuable not only to manu- 
facturers, but to dealers and individuals as 
well, for the colors are so numbered that it 
will be possible to match all materials and 
threads by number, provided the number 
assigned to colors by this association are 
adopted by all textile and allied industries. 

To give you an idea of the manner in which 
this association has gone about this matter, I 
might state that a system of standard numbers 
has been established giving each color a num- 
ber consisting of four figures that expresses 
as nearly as can be done the character of the 
color according to the following plan: 

The first, second, and third figures indicate 
the relative proportions of the component 
parts of a color. Thus, the first figure indi- 
cates the principal color on which the shade 
is based, the second the principal blend, and 
the third the secondary blend. For the pur- 



124 SECRETS OF DISTINCTIVE DRESS 

pose of identification, white is numbered i ; 
red, 2; orange, 3; yellow, 4; green, 5; blue, 6; 
violet, 7; gray, 8; black, 9; and no change, o. 
The fourth figure of the color number indi- 
cates the strength of the color designated by 
the first three figures. To the lightest is 
assigned the number 1 ; to the second lightest, 
2; to light, 3; medium light, 4; medium, 5; 
medium dark, 6; dark, 7; second darkest, 8; 
and darkest, 9. In addition the abbrevia- 
tion S., for standard, or O., for season number, 
is prefixed to the color number in order to 
avoid possible interference with established 
numbers. 

To illustrate the system devised by this asso- 
ciation, let us consider the color turquoise, to 
which is assigned the number S. 6153. As you 
will observe, 6 represents blue, the principal 
color; 1, white, the principal blend; 5, green, 
the secondary blend ; and the last number, 3, 
the light strength. 

Following is a list of the standard color 
numbers issued by this association, together 
with the name applied in each case: 



IOOI 


White 


2007 


Dark Cardinal 


1041 


Ivory 


2009 


Garnet 


1045 


Cream 


2035 


Geranium 


2003 


Scarlet 


2063 


Cherry 


2005 


Cardinal 


2065 


Ruby 





YOUR 


COLOR 


12 


2067 


American Beauty 


4285 


Terra Cotta 


2103 


Pink 1 


4287 


Mahogany 


2105 


Pink 2 


4383 


Chamois 


2107 


Pink 3 


4815 


Gold 


2131 


Flesh 


4817 


Old Gold 


2145 


Salmon Pink 


5005 


Emerald 


2163 


Wild Rose 


5007 


Hunter 


2165 


Raspberry 


5067 


Myrtle 


2167 


Claret 


5H3 


Nile Green 


2169 


Burgundy 


5164 


Ocean Green 


2174 


Ashes of Roses 


5183 


Mignonette 


2183 


Old Rose 


5185 


Reseda 


2185 


Strawberry 


5385 


Bronze 


3005 


Orange 


5413 


Chartreuse 


3025 


Burnt Orange 


5485 


Olive 


3083 


Tan 


5495 


Evergreen 


3H5 


Maize 


5823 


Sage 


3183 


Ecru 


5827 


Bottle Green 


3185 


Fawn 


6005 


National 


3187 


Beaver 


6007 


Yale Blue 


3285 


Gold Brown 


6053 


Saxe Blue 


3295 


Brown 


6055 


Electric 


3485 


Topaz 


6057 


Sapphire 


3842 


Buff 


6083 


Marine 


3925 


Chestnut 


6085 


Navy 


3928 


Seal 


6103 


Light Blue 1 


3945 


Tobacco 


6105 


Light Blue 2 


3948 


Negro 


6107 


Light Blue 3 


4005 


Lemon 


6109 


Light Blue 4 


4025 


Golden Rod 


6123 


Cornflower 


4115 


Leghorn 


6i53 


Turquoise 


4123 


Apricot 


6183 


Copenhagen 


4183 


Champagne 


6185 


Delft 


4185 


Beige 


6505 


Peacock 



126 



SECRETS OF DISTINCTIVE DRESS 



6853 


Cadet 


7205 


Fuchsia 


6855 


Regimental 


7285 


Magenta 


6925 


Navy 2 


7814 


Heliotrope 


6875 


Navy 3 


78i7 


Prune 


6985 


Midnight 


7905 


Egg Plant 


7003 


Violet 


8065 


Steel 


7005 


Pansy 


8067 


Slate 


7007 


Purple 


8111 


Pearl Gray 


7123 


Lavender 


8113 


Silver 


7163 


Lilac 


8115 


Nickel 


7183 


Orchid 


8843 


Castor 


7195 


Amethyst 


8845 


Taupe 


7187 


Plum 


8935 


Smoke 


7195 


Wisteria 


8965 


Graphite 



DEVELOPMENT OF COLOR SENSE 
With the principles of color understood, 
you may readily turn to the application of 
color in dress, so that appropriate color 
schemes for given purposes may be developed. 
The ways in which to become familiar with 
color combinations are numerous. 

Once you have become sufficiently experi- 
enced to define hues, tints, and shades, and 
have trained your eye to observe and your 
memory to retain normal colors with their 
variations, you will be able to learn much 
from nature's combinations, be it in cloud and 
atmospheric effects, autumn tint and foliage, 
flowers, minerals, animals, birds, insects, and 
so on. 



YOUR COLOR 



127 



Then, by visiting museums and exhibitions, 
you may study effects in china, glass, and tex- 
tiles, including tapestries, rugs, and old em- 
broideries and laces ; or by frequenting the art 
galleries, you may gain inspiration from old 
and new Japanese prints and from the exhibits 
of old and new masters in art. 

Again, the ballroom, automobile shows, and 
other places where variety and gaiety in dress 
may be seen will help to give you ideas of 
color, to say nothing of the theater and even 
the motion-picture playhouses, where old- 
period gowns and other equally interesting 
styles and colorings are often portrayed. 

You may also get inspiration from the beau- 
tiful colors in the shops and show windows. 
Indeed, many a beautiful gown has been 
created by designers who, having seen some 
beautiful creation, were inspired to apply 
their knowledge of color, line, and fabric. 

Taste in color is largely a matter of civili- 
zation and cultivation. The nearer a person 
approaches the savage, the greater is the in- 
clination for brilliant colors ; yet it is true that 
many excellent effects are attained by savage 
races. As civilization advances, the reverse is 
true, the colors being less severe and leaning 
more to the soft, quiet tones, in imitation of 
nature. 



128 SECRETS OF DISTINCTIVE DRESS 

Nature has given to each of us a keynote of 
color. It is helpful to study and fully appre- 
ciate her judicious and well-proportioned 
uses, and it is interesting to know that she uses 
but comparatively small quantities in propor- 
tion to her range of the intense or bright 
colors. Her greens, grays, and browns are 
enlivened by but small touches of blue, red, 
orange, and other bright colors. 

It is always best, as far as possible, to pre- 
serve Nature's proportions when following 
her suggestions. Once, when asked regarding 
appropriate dress by a ponderous woman who 
was dressed in red velvet, a prominent lecturer 
on dress harmony made this reply: "Madam, 
Nature made some butterflies and some hum- 
ming birds red, but she made elephants taupe, 
and Nature, madam, serves as a good color 
criterion." This answer is a wise though 
somewhat curt illustration, emphasizing the 
fact that brilliant colors must be used in small 
quantity, and shades in bulk. 

Some of the color combinations most fre- 
quently met with in nature are the white and 
yellow of the daisy ; the brown and yellow of 
the sunflower; the yellow and purple of the 
pansy; the light salmon, yellowish green, 
cream, and moss-green of the tea rose, which 
affords an ideal suggestion for a combination 



YOUR COLOR 129 

of delicate tints; the American beauty rose, 
with its hues from violet to red, together with 
the tones of green in the leaves. The nastur- 
tium, with its tones of yellow and orange and 
its tender green foliage, is a fine example of 
combining warm colors. A bunch of grapes, 
with its various catawba shades, or shaded 
from green to blue and violet, is also full of 
suggestions. Then there are the browns, 
pinks, greens, rose pinks, reds, and grays of 
the autumn leaves as a source of inspiration. 
So the list might be extended indefinitely by 
exercising the faculty of observation. 

COLOR CHARACTERISTICS AND COMBINATIONS 
To become familiar with the colors used in 
dress, look into their characteristics. 

Blue may be regarded as a standard color 
for woman's dress. It not only gives the im- 
pression of coolness, but is restful and unob- 
trusive. The lighter tints are very closely 
related to white, and when it is the purpose to 
make white give the impression of purity a 
bluish tint is always given to it. On the other 
hand, when mixed with black, blue produces 
a black that gives the impression of greater 
blackness. Blue frequently is preferred to 
black, because it is not inclined to look grayish 
in combination with some of the other colors. 



I30 SECRETS OF DISTINCTIVE DRESS 

Every season brings its new range of colors. 
Many new colors — some queer, some posi- 
tively ugly — are presented as being the very 
latest and, of course, the most fashionable 
colors. The various exploiters of fashion pro- 
claim each color as desirable, but invariably, 
after all is said, the assertion is made that blue 
is good and will be worn, thus emphasizing 
the power of popular demand. 

Blue is always fashionable, because women 
instinctively understand its value as a garment 
color, and it predominates because it best en- 
hances the good points of the wearer, in both 
the figure and the complexion. It does not 
by its intensity or depth obliterate the real 
charm of the face or form; neither does it 
accentuate any unpleasing features. 

White in its different varieties, the same as 
blue, may be called a standard, because it, too, 
is universally becoming, but the same thing 
cannot be said of black. Black is not becom- 
ing to nor desirable for all women, as it em- 
phasizes age and adds as many years to a face 
as white will subtract from it. A prominent 
writer credits the French women with saying 
that black should not be worn after a woman 
is thirty, unless for mourning, nor again until 
after she is sixty, and then only if she feels 
that she has to wear it. 



YOUR COLOR 131 

Violet is more pliable in its combinations 
than some of the other colors. It associates 
well with green-yellow, yellow-green, orange, 
orange-yellow, yellow, gold, gray, and green, 
but rarely is it satisfactory with red or blue, 
unless some intermediate tone or a neutral 
color is used with it. 

The darkest shades of orange form pleasing 
combinations with subdued yellows, especially 
when a stripe or a small figure of black is 
worked into the material. Light orange is too 
bright to be used freely, but yellow-orange or 
gold can be used to good advantage for em- 
bellishments. 

Green is very restful to the eye and forms 
an agreeable harmony with white. Its effect 
is to lend brilliancy. Light greens upon dark 
grounds produce pleasing effects, while the 
reverse is less satisfactory. Light and grayish 
greens are desirable in plain materials or as 
stripes, figures, or borders of darker tone. 
Blue-green, however, is difficult to combine 
with other colors, combining best with gold 
and with red in small quantities. 

When you combine colors, you must be care- 
ful not to injure the purity of one by an excess 
of another. For instance, light blue and light 
pink go well together, because neither is suffi- 
ciently intense to overpower the other. But 

10 



132 SECRETS OF DISTINCTIVE DRESS 

an equal quantity of light blue and normal red 
will not harmonize, because the greater in- 
tensity of the red will overpower the blue and 
make it look sickly or faded. 

Thus, it will be seen that when the intensity 
of colors differs greatly, the quantity of each 
that is used must also differ in order to pro- 
duce a combination that is harmonious; that 
is, the intense color must be used in much 
smaller quantity as a trimming or outline to 
the lighter one in a given color scheme. 

As I have stated before, colors that contrast 
harshly may be blended into harmony by plac- 
ing intermediate hues, tones, or the neutrals 
between them. Thus, black, white, or gray 
between strong, bright colors neutralize them 
and prevent confliction. Very bright colors 
in quantity are detrimental to somber ones 
when placed side by side. 

SELECTING YOUR COLOR 
If you select the right colors for your dress, 
everybody concerned derives satisfaction from 
your intelligent choice. 

Most persons experience real pleasure or 
displeasure from colors, some claiming that 
certain colors affect them to the extent that 
they cause happiness or depression, according 
to the way in which the individual views them. 



YOUR COLOR I33 

It is claimed, too, that right color in one's 
dress has a beneficial effect on the health of 
the body and the mind of both the wearer and 
the observer. Indeed, it cannot be disputed 
that different colors produce different effects 
on the individual — that they excite different 
and varying states of feeling. This undoub- 
tedly accounts for the pleasure and comfort 
so often experienced in wearing some partic- 
ular garment. 

A regrettable thing, however, is that we can 
seldom define this feeling or credit it to the 
proper cause; it is unfortunate, too, that the 
effect of color on different persons is as widely 
different as the effect of musical sound, for 
just as there are persons devoid of sound ap- 
preciation, that is, with no ear for music, so 
there are persons without a color sense, a 
defect that is usually designated as color 
blindness or color ignorance. 

The lack of this faculty, fortunately, is less 
frequently found in women than in men, and 
this may be attributed to the fact that with the 
advance of civilization men have practically 
discarded color in its broad uses, whereas wo- 
men have clung to color, not only for their 
dress, but for their home decoration. 

One of the natural and God-given duties of 
woman is to charm and please, and color 



134 SECRETS OF DISTINCTIVE DRESS 

rightly used is a wonderful factor in accom- 
plishing this end. 

If I were asked to give a color standard for 
woman's dress that could be adhered to con- 
tinuously, I would have to confess that it is 
practically impossible. Each season produces 
new shades, tints, or tones of colors that cannot 
be classified, and these may put at variance 
any method that might be worked out during 
a previous season. 

Of course, if the advice of advocates of a 
standard type of dress for women were fol- 
lowed, it might be possible to plan garments 
for them in much the same manner as men's 
garments are planned. While much may be 
said for and against the adoption of such a 
standard type of dress, its discussion here is 
not warranted ; yet I must emphasize that 
such a style would have a tendency to take 
away from woman the privilege she has of 
bringing out her best points. As matters now 
stand, there is much unattractive color in wo- 
man's dress ; yet how much more displeasing, 
yes, even distressing, might be the effect if we 
could wear no colors save the somber blacks, 
blues, browns, and grays that constitute the 
color range of men's clothes. 

Color is and should be made to express per- 
sonality. 



YOUR COLOR 135 

Often it is made to do this only crudely, 
even offensively; and too often it serves to ex- 
press but the foolish desire to attract attention 
or to be attired in what is considered the latest 
fashion. 

Color should charm and delight the ob- 
server and fit in most harmoniously with sur- 
roundings; it should be an expression of one's 
best thoughts. 

Love of color is not to be condemned, for 
color should be made the means of enhancing 
real beauty of face and form and an aid in 
clarifying and idealizing plain features of 
face and figure. Too often it is allowed to 
lessen the effect of real beauty and to accen- 
tuate ugliness or plainness of feature. 

In selecting color for yourself, you must 
always make sure of whether or not it suits 
your individuality. Do not rush headlong 
after the newest color on the counter simply 
because it is new, although in this respect I 
feel safe in saying that a sufficient number of 
colors are brought out each season to suit all 
types and to meet all demands. 

Personal coloring depends on health and 
happiness, as well as on sickness and sadness, 
so that a shade or a tint that is becoming to 
you at one time may be found very trying at 
another. Besides, you should take into con- 



I36 SECRETS OF DISTINCTIVE DRESS 

sideration the color and texture of your skin, 
and the color of your eyes and hair. Partic- 
ularly should you follow this advice if Nature 
is beginning to dim the color and brilliancy of 
your eyes and to turn the natural color of your 
hair to gray or white. Under such circum- 
stances a readjustment of color is advisable. 
The tint or the shade must be varied ; that is, 
lighter or darker tones should, almost invari- 
ably, be resorted to. 

Brilliant, hard, cold colors, or what might 
be fittingly termed unrelenting or non-retiring 
colors, should be avoided once a woman is past 
her first youth; in fact, not every young wo- 
man or young girl can afford to wear such 
tones. For instance, pure blue, red, or yellow, 
grass green, the popular golf red, and similar 
colors that are launched forth nearly every 
season as being the latest thing are so strong 
that they rob the wearer of all the natural 
color of skin, hair, and eyes, making even a 
young, vigorous girl appear devoid of anima- 
tion and charm. 

The use of such colors even as trimming is 
a mistake commonly made by women lacking 
in the natural color of skin, hair, and eyes, such 
women unquestionably believing that because 
of their own lack of color it is the correct 
thing to do. 



YOUR COLOR 137 

You will do well to note that gray eyes re- 
flect blue or green, and sometimes brown tints, 
and that the right shade of blue will increase 
the coloY and brilliancy of blue eyes. 

Blue face veils give the effect of having 
clarified the skin and heightened the color, and 
are for this reason a pleasing accessory to 
many women's toilets. Face veils of white, 
however, should be avoided except by the very 
youthful and those having a clear, highly 
colored complexion. 

It is important that you consider your eyes, 
hair, and skin in choosing colors for your 
dress, being careful to avoid those which will 
give you a faded, unhealthy tinge, or too 
harsh and florid an appearance, and choosing 
that which will enhance the beauty of your 
individual coloring. 

Your attention is called to the surprising 
changes that are brought about in a person's 
appearance by light showing through colored 
fabrics, especially those used in gaily colored 
parasols. A green parasol makes red hair 
appear brown; violet eyes, bluish-green 
brown; red lips, brown; white skin, green; 
black gloves, greenish-brown; and a green 
coat, deeper green. An orange parasol makes 
a snow-white forehead appear orange colored ; 
rosy cheeks, scarlet; red lips, scarlet; the neck 



I38 SECRETS OF DISTINCTIVE DRESS 

and skin where the reflected light strikes, 
orange; yellow gloves, yellow-orange; and a 
black coat, maroon. 

The lining in coats should have considera- 
tion. Many women like beautiful linings, and 
in the linings of their coats indulge this fancy 
to their hearts' content. But great caution 
should be exercised in selecting a coat lining, 
so that when it is thrown back in a theater, in 
a hotel dining room, or in any place where it 
will be seen, the lining will make a suitable 
background for you and your gown. Many 
times the color of the lining may be such that 
it will be very effective and add much to the 
"picture," but if it is of a jarring color, the 
effect may be entirely spoiled. 

You may be interested to know, too, that 
color in dress materials is affected by light, all 
colors being lessened or increased in richness, 
brilliancy, or beauty according to whether 
they are seen in daylight or under artificial 
light. Therefore, in selecting colors for eve- 
ning garments, you will profit by examining 
the materials under artificial light and those 
for day wear in daylight. 

In selecting silent-tone fabrics, you will 
likewise do well to avoid the influence that 
other colors or more brilliant hues exert. For 
instance, if you desire a very dark blue, take 



YOUR COLOR 139 

the material where other colors will not de- 
tract from it, and in this way its real tone and 
color will assert itself. Very often a soft, beau- 
tiful color will be killed by being placed close 
to a color that is more brilliant. 

Still another factor that you should reckon 
with in the selection of color is its seasonal 
adaptability. Shakespeare's advice to actors 
to "suit the action to the word" might well be 
paraphrased in advice to women to "suit the 
color to the season." 

Climate and season are closely related to the 
color and weight of garments, and they de- 
mand considerable thought if one is to be ap- 
propriately and artistically dressed. 

It is indeed distressing to see a woman 
dressed in red, warm brown, yellow, or orange 
on a warm day in June or July. Although 
beautifully glowing in winter weather, such 
colors are shunned by the tasteful dresser in 
warm weather. Instead, she will wear gowns 
and hats of white and light tints, of blue and 
its related colors, green and violet, and other 
cool colors, so as not to produce a sense of 
warmth or heat. 

Nature, as I have already remarked, serves 
as an excellent guide in color selection, and she 
may always be followed to advantage in mat- 
ters of dress. 



140 SECRETS OF DISTINCTIVE DRESS 

In the spring, Old Mother Nature does 
not consult the fashion books, but puts forth 
the beautiful violets, primroses, hyacinths, and 
daffodils. In her scheme of coloring she har- 
monizes the fresh green of the trees with the 
pink petals of the apple blossoms and the deli- 
cate coloring of the springtime flowers. Her 
color scheme is so near perfection that no one 
has been clever enough to improve on it. In 
summer, she modifies these colors, making 
them less brilliant, thereby creating an atmos- 
phere of coolness and comfort; in autumn 
she turns the foliage to the soft browns, tans, 
and russets, suggesting appropriate colors for 
this season; and as snowy, bleak, cold winter 
steals upon us, she warns us to defy the icy 
blasts by dressing warmly and putting on 
bright colors suggestive of heat and warmth. 

Black and cold gray, which display no 
cheerfulness, are colors given over to sorrow, 
calmness, and the passing out of this world. 
They are not appropriate for the joy mani- 
fested at the dawn of spring, when everything 
in Nature's garden thrills with happiness. 
White, however, is always symbolic of purity 
and repose, is ever dear to us, and is most often 
worn in summer. 

By following Nature, that is, giving correct 
thought to appropriateness in the matter of 





COLORS THAT MAY AND 


MAY NOT BEt" 


Type ol 'Woman 


Black 


White 


Brown 


Blue 




/ 


Fair Blonde 

Hair — flaxen or golden . 

Eyes — blue, gray, or 

brown. Complexion 

— clear; little color. 


Good; especially 
if of high lus- 
ter and with 
t.iuches of 
bright colors 
and white. 


Good; especially 
clear or oyster 
white. 


Good; especially 
very dark 
shades and 
green-brown, or 
bronze. 


Good; all shades, 
if not too bril- 
liant, including 
delft, turquoise, 
and peacock. 


Gc 

a 


I 
da 


Titian Blonde 
Hair — red. Eye s — 
blue, gray, or brown, 
Complexion — medi- 
um clear and ciear 
white: varying color. 


Good; especially 
t r a n s p a rent 
black. 


Good; especially 
cream and 
ivory. 


Rich, deep, dark 
brown is all 
right. Avoid 
tans and yellow 
browns. 


Good; especially 
blue-gray, mid- 
night or dark- 
est navy, and 
soft, silent 
tones. 


Us 

s 
c 

t 
1 

1 

i 


:!:■ 
■ 
■ 

X 

: 

• 


Blonde- Brunette, or 
" In-Between" Type 
Hair — light chestnut 
or brown tone. Eyes 
— hazel, gray, blue- 
gray, or brown. 
Complexion — medi- 
um. 


Fair; good if used 
with trimmings 
of color or 
white. 


Good; especially 
clear white or 
with pink tine. 


Fair; pinkish tan 
and gol den 
brown best. 


Good; intensifies 
the color of 
blue-gray eyes. 
Avoid very 
bright hues. 


F; 
\ 

Oi 

( 

1 
G< 

D 

A 

C 
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i 
.: 


Pale Brunette 
Hair — black or dark 
brown. Eyes — 
brown, gray, or 
blue. Complexion; — 
clear. Skin— fair; 
varying color. 


Good, if white 
vest or collar is 
used or if deli- 
cate color of 
soft material is 
used as trim- 
ming. 


Good; especially 
pure cream and 
ivory. 


Fair; all shades. 


Good; all shades. 
Electric and 
sapphire excel- 
lent if eyes are 
blue. 


• 
I 
1 


Olive Brunette 
Hair — dark brown or 
black. Eyes — clear 
brown or black. 
Complexion — d ark 
in tone. Ski n — 
smooth. Lips — very 
deep red, sometimes 
with a purplish 
tinge. 


Avoid. 


Excellent ; espe- 
cially ivory and 
cream. 


Fair in very dark 
shades. Mahog- 
any with cream 
for collar is ex- 
cellent. 


Excellent if very 
dark. 


i 


Florid Brunette 
Hair — black or dark 
brown. Eyes — 
black, brown, or 
gray. Complexion — 
dark. Skin — highly 
colored. 


Very good; espe- 
cially with color 
touches and 
yokes of cream 
or 6cru lace. 


Good; especially 
cream and 
ivory. 


Good ; especially 
golden, tan, an. J 
nut browns. 


Very pale, dark, 
or peacock, de- 
void of purple 
tinge, are best. 


jit 
i 


Sallow Mature Woman 
Hair — gray or white. 
Eyes — brown, blue, 
or gray. Com- 
plex i o n — sallow, 
without color. 


Good only with 
white or cream 
and touch of 
bright color. 


Only cream and 
milk white are 
good. 


Avoid. 


Midnight and 
navy, without 
any tinge of 
purple, are 
good. 




Fair-Skinned Mature 
Woman 
Hair — gray or white 
Eyes — blue, brown, 
or gray. Complexion 
— fair; good coloring 
in lips and cheeks. 


All right if re- 
lieved by white 
or palest 6cru 
collar, yoke, or 
vest. 


Excellent. 


Very dark, but 
not golden, 
brown is good; 
seal and chest- 
nut are best. 


Use only dull old 
blues, pastel 
tints, and mid- 
night blue. 


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61085 












1 



'ORN BY DIFFERENT TYPES OF WOMEN 



Gray 



Good ; especially 
pearl, dove, and 
warm shades. 



Purple 



Good ; especially 
heliotrope, wis- 
teria, and blue- 
violet. 



Red 



Yellow 



Good; especially 
gray with a 
pink cast. 



Clear or blue- 
gray fair. Avoid 
combinations of 
gray and black. 



Good; all shades, 
especially pearl, 
dove, blue-gray, 
and color gray. 



Pair if warm 
color gray. 



Silver gray is 
best. 



Good when of 
warm color 
gray. 



Avoid. If com- 
. plexion is clear 
and white, 
darkest and 
lightest laven- 
der or violet 
may be used. 



Fair; darkest 
shades are best. 
Very clear com- 
plexions may 
wear lavender. 



Fair; must be 
used carefully. 
Orchid is good. 



Use cautiously. 
Egg plant is 
permissible. 



Avoid. Not be- 
coming. 



Avoid, except in 
dull tones and 
with white at 
neck. Some li- 
lac may be used. 



Stone and lighter 
tones relieved 
by white at 
neck and 
brightened by a 
touch of color 
are all right. 



Use only helio- 
trope (dull 
tone), grape, 
and darkest 
shade. 



Dark and bril- 
liant shades, 
like golf red, 
are best. 



Avoid all except 
very pale yel- 
low. 



Pink 



Avoid. 



Good in darkest 
shades, espe- 
cially if used 
with very dark 
blue. 



Only dark red, 
such as garnet 
and burgundy, 
is good. 



Excellent ; espe- 
cially the dark, 
warm shades. 



Fair. Dark, rich 
orange or am- 
ber tones are 
best as trim- 
ming, or veiled 
by white or 
black. 



Palest yellow fair 
Avoid 6cru 
tints. 



Mustard, amber, 
and canary yel- 
lows are best. 



Terra-cotta or 
fawn shades are 
good if cau- 
tiously used. 
Apricot in sheer 
material or as 
trimming is ex- 
cellent. 



Cardinal, crim- 
son, and clear 
red are best. 



Avoid, except in 
dull wine 
shades and with 
white at neck. 



Avoid. 



Good ; including 
any tone from 
orange to ivory. 



Avoid. 



Use palest buff 
only. 



Good; all delicate 
or subdued 
shades, from 
lightest to old 
rose. 



Lightest tints all 
right. Shell and 
flesh best. 



Good; especially 
pale pink and 
rose 



Good; all pinks, 
except where 
cheeks are 
highly colored. 



Excellent in deli- 
cate tints. Sal- 
mon is espe- 
cially good. 



Coral, rose (pale), 
old rose, and 
flesh are best. 



Only old rose is 
good. 



Use palest and 
wild-rose shades 
only. 



YOUR COLOR 141 

color and choosing gowns and wraps suitable 
for each season, there will be little chance for 
repetition of color in your wardrobe; like- 
wise, there will be greater opportunity for you 
to work out a color scheme in gowns, wraps, 
hats, shoes, and accessories and thereby avoid 
the extravagances in dress so often accredited 
to women. 

COLORS FOR VARIOUS TYPES 
To aid you in the selection of color, I have 
introduced here a table that shows which 
colors may be worn successfully, as well as 
which colors should be avoided, by the eight 
recognized types of women: the fair blonde; 
the Titian, or red-haired, blonde; the blonde- 
brunette, or "in-between" type; the pale bru- 
nette; the olive brunette; the florid brunette; 
the sallow mature woman; and the fair- 
skinned mature woman. 

In using this table you should keep in mind 
that a woman's age must always receive due 
consideration. Deep pink, for example, is 
usually for the youthful, while for the woman 
of sixty or more, white, delicate pink, flesh, 
rose, mulberry, black, dark blue, gray-blue, 
gray, and some shades of purple, such as 
lavender and pink-violet, are the most be- 
coming. 



142 SECRETS OF DISTINCTIVE DRESS 

From youth to old age, every woman can 
wear white. Of course, not all women can 
wear pure, or blue, white, but then there are 
the milk, cream, and pink whites from which 
to select. 

Also, it is well to know that all cold colors 
should be avoided by persons with sallow com- 
plexions; they should resort to warm colors 
and tones. A person with a perfectly clear 
complexion, though, may wear any color that 
does not clash with the color of her hair. 

The range of colors given in this table for 
Titian, or red-haired, blonde may with slight 
variations of shades and tints be safely fol- 
lowed in all the varying degrees of com- 
plexion. 

Black for the pale-brunette type is always 
less trying if a cream-white vest or collar is 
used with it, or if some delicate color in soft 
material is employed as trimming. Brown is 
not good if the complexion is imperfect or 
inclined to noticeable sallowness or if the 
eyes lack the brilliancy characteristic of this 
type. 

The sallow mature woman is by far the 
most difficult type of woman to dress. For 
this reason, great care should be exercised in 
the selection of every color given for this type 
in the table. Any color selected should be of 



YOUR COLOR 143 

the gray, shell, or pastel tone, rather than of 
brilliant quality. Bright colors introduced to 
given character or develop design should be 
used intelligently and very sparingly. Large 
splashes of color should never be used near 
the face, because this will not have the desired 
effect of brightening up the face, as is usually 
supposed, but will add to the sallowness of the 
complexion. Even white should be of the soft 
milk, cream, or pink tint, rather than a pure, 
or blue, white, which is as hard and brilliant 
as if it possessed color. 

The part of the table for the fair-skinned 
mature woman contains information for the 
prematurely gray-haired woman — that is, the 
woman whose hair is the only indication of 
approaching age and whose coloring and 
figure still retain their youthful qualities — 
and also for the mature woman who cannot be 
robbed of the brilliancy and beauty of com- 
plexion or youthful figure by age. 

The prematurely gray may successfully 
wear materials of mixed color, such as two- 
tone fabrics in which the less vivid color pre- 
dominates ; that is, fabrics in which the more 
brilliant color is the underwoven color. This 
type can wear rather brilliant colors also, pro- 
vided they are veiled with transparent white, 
black, or dark colors of somber tone. 



144 SECRETS OF DISTINCTIVE DRESS 

To broaden your knowledge of color, think 
not only of the colors for yourself, but also of 
colors appropriate for your friends. This will 
increase your interest in color as well as in art, 
for color is a requisite of art, and a knowledge 
of art comes by study and application — comes 
to you only through conscious effort. 



ELSIE FERGUSON 

Who knows clothes and how to make them carry the lines 
of dress to success for her as she herself carries the lines of 
the play. 



i a knowledge 



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nil aril aainBO Iba-iari arte a£ larl io} aa9D3ug o) aasib lo 

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Artcraft Pictures 



CHAPTER VI 

BEAUTY IN LINES OF FIGURE AND DRESS 

LINE THE INDICATOR OF GRACE — HOW TO EXPRESS LINES 
— THE CHARM OF LITHESOMENESS AND POISE — THE 
PROPER CORSET — CORRECT PROPORTIONS OF THE 

HUMAN FIGURE OVERCOMING IRREGULARITIES — 

DRESS SUGGESTIONS FOR THE STOUT WOMAN. 

Some women instinctively feel "line" and 
are graceful in consequence. 

The artist feels and knows lines. The wo- 
man who designs, makes, and wears garments 
must know line and balance to be able to make 
garments that express individuality. Women 
who are interested in dress in its highest sense 
realize that clothes to be effective must express 
the personality of the wearer. 

Elsie Ferguson, one of America's most 
attractive women, delightfully expresses her 
individuality in her clothes. The long, grace- 
ful lines that she effects give grace and dignity 
to every movement of her body. To see Elsie 
Ferguson on the stage, to forget the theme of 
the play, and to study the lines of her costumes 
will give sufficient evidence of the value of 
lines. Indeed, such a study will convince any 

145 



146 SECRETS OF DISTINCTIVE DRESS 

woman that she can make herself more attrac- 
tive if she learns to know the lines that are 
best suited to her type. 

The woman who makes a career for herself 
on the stage studies herself — her expression 
and her movements — learns her good and bad 
points, and as a result invariably gives more 
consideration to the lines of her costume, to 
the gracefulness of her body, than she does to 
her face and coiffure. 

Every woman should realize her possibili- 
ties and make the most of them. Study and 
observation, with determination, will make it 
possible to achieve much in the way of im- 
provement. Dinner parties, receptions, all 
manner of things are given on the stage, and 
every person there represents a certain type 
of character and has his or her part in making 
the scene beautiful. When planning to go to 
a dinner, a party, or a reception, plan to make 
yourself a decorative part of the surroundings, 
to dress yourself in such a- way that you will 
add to the attractiveness of the assemblage, so 
that you will make a pleasing picture, rather 
than the one jarring note. 

Emily Burbank, in her book on "Woman 
as Decoration," writes at great length upon 
the value of woman as decoration. She gives 
chapters about how a woman should decorate 



BEAUTY IN LINES OF FIGURE AND DRESS 1 47 

her garden, her drawing room, her boudoir, 
by dressing appropriately and being beauti- 
ful in it, by dressing herself to be the most 
beautiful thing in her living room or at her 
dinner table. 

The wonderful art galleries of the world 
and the histories of all times tell us that wo- 
men have been and are the most decorative 
of all created things. They have supplied the 
inspiration for the most wonderful paintings, 
for the most beautiful pieces of statuary, for 
decorations on vases, and even for the designs 
on our moneys, all because they are to the 
artist the source of his loftiest inspiration. 

What has the artist portrayed in the beauti- 
ful picture on canvas or vase? Not the face 
alone, but the lines of the figure, the lines of 
the gown, the drapery of the gown, most often, 
and the great artists find woman most graceful 
in gowns that hang from the shoulder; but 
even such gowns may be so modernized as to 
fit in the social life or the office of today and 
be entirely appropriate and far more beautiful 
than a gown that is cut up in small pieces and 
put together in patchwork fashion. 



11 



I48 SECRETS OF DISTINCTIVE DRESS 



HOW TO EXPRESS LINES 

Harmonious lines in dress require correct 
carriage of the body to express them. A 
knowledge of the lines of face and figure 
is essential to the successful adaptation of lines 
in dress. A knowledge of stature and correct 
posture is necessary if any degree of person- 
ality or individuality is to be emphasized. To 
stand correctly is the first requisite of a grace- 
ful figure. In the beauty of correct posture 
lies much of the charm of many of the cele- 
brated pieces of sculpture, such as the martial 
"Winged Victory" and the beautiful "Venus 
of Milo." 

Dr. Walter L. Pyle, in his book on "Per- 
sonal Hygiene" tells in a few words how to 
stand correctly. His rule is exactly what 
every woman should daily apply to herself : 

The erect standing posture is maintained by holding 
the body as tall as possible without actually rising on to 
the toes. In this way the trunk (your body) is given its 
greatest length ; there is the largest space available for the 
organs; the muscles of the front, back, and sides are in 
perfect balance, none are strained ; the head is erect and 
so poised that none of the muscles are overworked. 

Apply this rule to yourself ; practice stand- 
ing just as tall as you can without throwing 
your weight on your toes. Every time you 
are standing, think of it and practice it. In 



BEAUTY IN LINES OF FIGURE AND DRESS 1 49 

one week's time, you will see improvement; 
in six weeks, you will wonder how you ever 
stood in an incorrect way, for correct posture 
rests you, it is better for you physically, and 
makes you much more attractive; besides, 
your clothes will appear fifty per cent, better 
when you stand erect in them. 

Books and books have been written on cor- 
rect posture. One author goes so far as to 
say that any woman can be beautiful if she ac- 
quires a correct carriage, because it is her 
figure that attracts the greatest amount of 
attention. We American women are accred- 
ited with giving little thought to how we 
stand, it being said of us that our posture is 
ugly, that we stand with one hip down, just 
as a horse does when it is tired or asleep. We 
do it — you do and so do I. But we know it is 
not a pleasing sight for our friends. When 
people whom we respect come into our pres- 
ence, we immediately stand erect and make 
ourselves "as tall as possible." 

Why not practice persistently standing cor- 
rectly for six weeks and let it become a habit 
(habits, you know, can be formed for good as 
well as for bad), so that we will always stand 
properly and not have to gather ourselves to- 
gether as if picking up a lapful of sewing upon 
the approach of our friends? 



150 SECRETS OF DISTINCTIVE DRESS 

"Pep" in your step. What has that to do 
with the attractiveness of woman? 

The most graceful woman I ever knew was 
extremely light on her feet. Though weigh- 
ing at least one hundred and fifty pounds, she 
moved about lightly, quickly, deftly. To be 
graceful, you must be light on your feet. This 
is not hard to do. Practice lifting the body up 
and walking quickly, and avoid planting your 
full weight on your feet with each step. 
Thoughtful watching will enable you to 
acquire this desirable habit. 

It has been said that a man who wears a 
soldier's uniform for any length of time can 
always be recognized when in civilian clothes 
because of the erectness of his body and his 
correct posture, whether sitting or standing. 
It is noticeable around military camps, where 
soldiers are drilling and practicing, that both 
men and women who live near and see them 
hold up their shoulders and walk more cor- 
rectly than do persons who are not in close 
contact with the military atmosphere. 

I remember quite well of having been sit- 
ting in a railway station in a big city, observ- 
ing the people as they passed to and fro. I 
saw a number of soldiers in uniform, and 
noticed that they walked with so much more 
assurance and confidence than the civilians 



BEAUTY IN LINES OF FIGURE AND DRESS 151 

that I wished every man could wear the uni- 
form a little while just for the purpose of mak- 
ing him appreciate the benefits to be derived 
from standing correctly. 

At this same time, I noticed a group of sit- 
ting, waiting women. I am sorry to say the 
picture they made was not pleasing. They 
were crumpled up as though friendless, am- 
bitionless, and spiritless, sitting with their 
heads down, their backs looking long, draggly, 
and tired. The effect of seeing these people 
made me want to sit up straight to throw off 
any appearance of fatigue; in fact, this was 
necessary in order to overcome the mental de- 
pression that these pictures caused. 

The devotee of the one-time popular "debu- 
tante slouch" is looked upon as lazy or semi- 
ill, rather than blase or aristocratic. 

THE CHARM OF LITHESOMENESS AND POISE 
Sarah Bernhardt, the great dramatic artist, 
says of women: "Prettiness does not matter. 
If a woman has charm and energy, she can 
secure whatever else she desires — love, suc- 
cess, power." 

At this point, I want to make a clear dis- 
tinction between prettiness and beauty. The 
woman who has a highly powdered, rouged 
face, with fluffy, frizzled hair, may be pretty; 



152 SECRETS OF DISTINCTIVE DRESS 

but the woman who is wholesome, clean, 
neat, and charming is beautiful — yes beautiful 
even after a whole day's picnicking or shop- 
ping or working. 

The pretty woman, if constantly within 
range of powder puff and mirror, may retain 
her prettiness, but I would encourage you to 
acquire beauty and then judiciously apply 
prettiness, and, as your reward, be attractive, 
distinctive, and — a beautiful woman. 

The plainest woman can be wholesome, can 
express lithesomeness, vitality, charm, and can 
dress becomingly — a combination that will 
make her so attractive that she will unques- 
tionably appear pleasing. 

Lithesome! Isn't that a fascinating word? 
Almost as much so as happiness. No; 
really not so fascinating. Happiness says so 
much, means so much, is so much to be de- 
sired and so precious to possess that none, not 
even the poorest of us, would sell it for great 
wealth! Happiness radiates beauty — that 
elusive, exquisite quality we all persistently 
seek to express. 

But, to get back to the word lithesome. I 
like to think of it in connection with woman. 

Lithesomeness challenges age, for it gives 
a youthful step and grace in movement, and 
shows that you are master of your body. 



BEAUTY IN LINES OF FIGURE AND DRESS 1 53 

Lithesomeness helps to accentuate poise, too, 
for it expresses freedom, the abandonment of 
restraint. And poise expresses what? Men- 
tal strength, for poise comes only to those 
whose minds have supreme power over their 
faculties. 

Lithesomeness and poise — two delightful 
qualities. When you possess both, your 
friends will pronounce you charming. 

If you possess a spirit of happiness, you may 
acquire lithesomeness through bodily exercise 
that is systematic and persistent. And poise, 
too, may be cultivated, for it comes through 
study, continuous efforts toward self-improve- 
ment, and the daily, yes, hourly, practicing of 
the Golden Rule. 

So much is said about the importance, the 
necessity, of physical exercise that I am sure 
you realize its value, the necessity of exercis- 
ing every day. 

In days gone by, women of leisure did not 
exercise. They, as a rule, became fat at forty, 
and at forty-five they were old women. Few 
lived past the age of forty-five. Why? Be- 
cause they wore ugly, tight corsets that gave 
no freedom and they were so frail, so delicate, 
that when illness assailed them they were as 
susceptible to it as a drunkard is to pneumonia 
and as incurable. 



154 SECRETS OF DISTINCTIVE DRESS 

Now, however, the woman of leisure has 
charities, work for her country, has swim- 
ming, golf, motoring — all manner of work 
and sport to give exercise. The woman who 
keeps her own home has some of these, too, 
for cleaning, sweeping, dusting, bedmaking — 
all tend to give her a lithesome, graceful body. 

The office girl usually has access to a gym- 
nasium or a bathing pool. If she has not, she 
can easily secure a chart or a book written by 
a reputable teacher of physical culture and 
study and practice hygiene, as well as helpful 
exercises that will keep her body young and 
keep away any evidence of superfluous flesh. 

THE PROPER CORSET 

Corsets have much to do with the appear- 
ance of women who wear them and also with 
their comfort and discomfort and, conse- 
quently, their disposition, for it can be truly 
said that corsets that fit properly are the next 
thing to a blessing, whereas ill-fitting corsets 
can provide as much food for ill temper as 
can any other one thing. 

That a knowledge of how to proceed in the 
selection of corsets is a valuable asset for any 
woman will not be denied. The accuracy and 
care with which the dresses of today are de- 
signed and made absolutely demand correct- 



BEAUTY IN LINES OF FIGURE AND DRESS 155 

fitting corsets. No one can afford to build 
a garment or a costume smart and stylish to 
the last detail and then have all its distinc- 
tiveness lost or its lines distorted by wearing it 
over a corset that does not fit properly. 

In buying corsets you will do well to con- 
sult the sales person of the corset shop or of 
the corset department of a store regarding the 
kind of corset that is best for your build ; yet 
you should know yourself the kind of corset 
that you can wear with the greatest comfort 
and, also, the kind that gives you the very best 
lines. 

It is reasonable to believe that any woman 
will select corsets with care if she knows how 
to proceed. 

Some manufacturers claim that there are 
nine types of women to be fitted with corsets, 
and all up-to-date corset makers provide cor- 
sets for these types. They are : ( i ) The short, 
slender figure; (2) the tall, slender figure; 
(3) the short-waisted figure; (4) the short, 
heavy figure; (5) the tall, heavy figure; (6) 
the full-hip figure; (7) the full-bust figure; 
(8) the swayed-back figure; and (9) the per- 
fect figure. 

In the following table I am giving a brief 
outline of the kinds of corsets to be worn by 
these various types of figure: 



156 secrets of distinctive dress 

Type of Figure Kind of Corset 

Short, slender figure . . Moderately short, light in weight, 
with few stays; never tight. 

Tall, slender figure. . .Light in weight, with few stays, 
but long enough over hips to 
give an unbroken line. 

Short-waisted figure . . Corset short below waist-line in 
front. Should be fitted loose 
and pulled down well on figure. 

Short, heavy figure . . . Corset with short stays, to avoid 
pushing up when wearer sits, 
thus making her appear short- 
waisted. 

Tall, heavy figure .... Corset with very long skirt. Must 
be short in front, however, 
length coming at back and sides. 

Full-hip figure Corset short-waisted, long and 

closely boned over the hips. 
Several elastics to be fastened to 
hose to avoid break at bottom 
of corset. 

Full-bust figure Corset loose enough above waist- 
line to allow flesh to fall into 
corset and thus make it less 
prominent; or, low-busted cor- 
set may be worn and flesh con- 
fined in tight-fitting brassiere. 

Swayed-back figure . . . Ordinary corset, but if back is very 
much curved and if figure is 
especially flat below the waist- 
line a small corset pad attached 
to inside of corset where need- 
ed. ( Pad may be made of three 
or more thicknesses of sheet 
wadding covered with China 
silk.) 

Perfect figure Correct size for waist and of com- 
fortable length and weight. 



BEAUTY IN LINES OF FIGURE AND DRESS 157 

As a general rule, the size of corset should 
be two to four inches smaller than the original 
waist measurement, but the large woman 
should not buy her corset to fit her waist 
measurement, as the size of her hips will have 
much to do with the size of her corset The 
large woman should guard against wearing 
too small a corset. 

A corset should never be worn too tight, for 
this makes the slender woman appear more 
slender, and it is apt to make the large woman 
appear to be "all corsets." A corset worn 
tight above the waist pushes the bust up and 
makes it appear still larger, while if tight 
over the hips the line at the termination of 
the corset will show, and this gives a very ugly 
appearance. 

CORRECT PROPORTIONS OF THE HUMAN FIGURE 
Perhaps you have never realized it, but it is 
true that the lines of your figure have as great 
a bearing upon what you may wear becom- 
ingly as color has. Indeed, if you wish to util- 
ize to the best advantage the ideas presented 
from day to day by fashion authorities, you 
must have a knowledge of the lines of the hu- 
man form. 

To come to such a knowledge and thereby 
appreciate the value of lines in dress and adapt 



158 SECRETS OF DISTINCTIVE DRESS 

them to your figure, it is absolutely essential 
to have a clear understanding of the correct 
proportions of the parts of the human figure. 
Thus, the relative proportion of the head and 
and the body as to length and width, the pro- 
portion of the waist length to the skirt length, 
the length of the arm as compared to the 
length of the waist, the position of the head 
on the shoulders, the width of the shoulders 
and the chest in proportion to the width of 
the back, the size and height of the neck in 
proportion to the length of the front and the 
width of the chest — all these and other factors 
govern the design of harmonious garments, 
because a clear comprehension of them makes 
it possible to plan and construct garments that 
will overcome defects and irregularities and 
yet be very attractive. 

So that you may form a definite idea of 
what your proportions must be in order to be 
considered as an evenly proportioned figure, 
I have tabulated the dimensions. In stating 
such proportions, the custom is to designate 
the measurements in so many heads, the term 
head meaning the distance from the bottom of 
the chin to the top of the forehead. Of course, 
persons of different sizes have heads of differ- 
ent sizes; therefore, your head governs your 
own measurements or proportions. 



beauty in lines of figure and dress 159 

Heads 

Height, from top of head to the floor 8 

From tip of chin to bottom of breastbone. . I 
From bottom of breastbone to waist line. . £ 

Under arm, from armhole to waist line ... I 

Arm, or armhole measure 2 

Bust, which usually is two inches smaller 

than hip measurement 4i 

From top of forehead to waist line 2f 

Width of hip, from side to side 2 

Thickness of hips \\ 

Hip measurement 4^ 

Waist-line measurement 3 

From waist line to fullest part or dart 

point, or beginning of legs I 

From beginning of legs to bottom of knee. . 2\ 

From bottom of knee to the floor 2 

Length of skirt from waist line to the floor 5^ 

Although the correct height of an evenly 
proportioned woman is eight heads, as is men- 
tioned in the list, artists in making drawings 
of figures, as well as in rendering pictorial 
designs of styles, generally choose a height of 
ten heads. This is done so as to bring out per- 
fection in appearance, for it is true that actual 
photographs of perfect figures, even if the 
models are very slender, always appear short 
and thick. 

This information will help you to follow 
intelligently the designs in fashion magazines 
that attempt to overcome, by use of artistic 
drawings, the squatty appearance a photo- 
graph gives the really perfect figure. 



l6o SECRETS OF DISTINCTIVE DRESS 

In connection with the measurements given, 
it may be well also to state that if the distance 
from the top of the forehead to the waist line 
is less than two and three-fourth heads, you 
would be considered short-waisted ; and of 
course, the reverse is true — a distance greater 
than two and three-fourth heads would mean 
that you are long-waisted. 

OVERCOMING IRREGULARITIES 

It is frequently asked, "How can a woman 
who has apparently no intuition or instinc- 
tive sense of line really come to know line and 
its relation to her and to her clothes?" 

Line, as it is used in connection with the 
lines of the human figure and in connection 
with dress, requires, first, a knowledge of the 
proportions of the human figure ; then, a care- 
ful and truthful self-analysis. 

You should study the table of measure- 
ments, determine for yourself whether or not 
you are long-waisted, short-waisted, broad for 
your height, or slender for your height, and 
then make an earnest effort in selecting your 
clothes to conceal any irregularity in pro- 
portion. 

Notice every dress you see, whether it is 
worn in the street, in the home, on a fashion 
manikin, or illustrated in women's magazines, 



BEAUTY IN LINES OF FIGURE AND DRESS l6l 

fashion books, or your daily newspaper. Asso- 
ciate the lines of the dress with your figure 
and the figures that you know, and constantly 
reason with yourself what you would use, why 
you would use it, what you would avoid, and 
why you would avoid it. 

You may be well proportioned and have a 
very beautiful figure even if your measure- 
ments do not coincide with those I have given. 
Still, if you do not measure up correctly, you 
should strive, in garment planning and con- 
struction, to secure a correct balance and in 
this way attract as little attention as possible 
to any irregularity in figure. 

For example, if your shoulders are nar- 
rower than your hips and your figure is not 
too stout, make your waists and blouses with 
long shoulder effects, berthas, and frills, or 
with plaits and tucks of a style that will give 
the impression of width through the shoul- 
ders; likewise, cut your skirts with straight 
lines or lines that will give length, in order to 
make the hips appear smaller. 

If your waist is short in proportion to your 
skirt length, select designs and color combina- 
tions that do not tend to accentuate this irreg- 
ularity. A very common mistake in such 
cases is to wear a high-waist-line skirt or a 
dark belt with a white or a light-colored shirt- 



1 62 SECRETS OF DISTINCTIVE DRESS 

waist. If you are of this type, choose only 
skirts with regulation waist lines and wear 
light belts that match the waist in color, or, 
better still, wear a belt that is part of the waist 
or the blouse. 

If your hips are high and heavy, wear skirts 
that tend to equalize the figure below the hip 
line; also, carry trimming lines low, and in 
this way draw the eye of the observer away 
from the prominent lines. 

The short-waisted woman is usually of 
generous proportions, with a full, high bust. 
If this means you, pay attention to your cor- 
sets and the lines of your dress or waist. Wear 
a corset that has a medium bust height and 
plenty of room for the bust and shoulder ful- 
ness to drop naturally, especially when sitting, 
and confine this part of the figure in a good- 
fitting brassiere, one that is not tight at its 
lower edge. Likewise, avoid yoke lines or 
contrasting color trimming lines that tend 
to cut the figure in two, and use instead long, 
slightly pointed lines to carry the eye down 
rather than around the figure. In dresses that 
will permit it, these lines should be extended 
down the skirt length, for it gives the appear- 
ance of greater height and slimness. 

If you happen to be a high-hip figure, avoid 
short-yoke effects. You will always look well 



BEAUTY IN LINES OF FIGURE AND DRESS 1 63 

in skirts with plaited fulness just below the 
hip line. 

If your skirt length is short in proportion 
to your waist length, locate the waist line of 
your dresses so that it will bring about a well- 
balanced figure. 

Things that the short-waisted figure should 
avoid can be successfully used by the short- 
skirt figure. The length of the bodice if it is 
worn over the skirt, the height of the waist 
line of the skirt itself, or the position of the 
girdle or the belt may be adjusted to give the 
effect of a long or a short waist or skirt, as 
the proportion of the figure demands. 

If you are a short woman, lines that run 
across, either for trimmings or on skirts, are not 
for you any more than they are for a woman 
whose body is long in proportion to her legs. 
Such lines, however, are a boon to the tall wo- 
man, as well as to the woman whose legs are 
long in proportion to her body, to the woman 
who should not wear striped materials made 
in up-and-down effect or long, unbroken skirt 
lengths. 

If your arms are long, you can wear 
trimmed or double sleeves well, provided their 
lines do not come at a point where they may 
create an ugly appearance because of a low, 
full bust or high hips. 



164 SECRETS OF DISTINCTIVE DRESS 

If your arms are shorter than the average, 
you should avoid such sleeves, no matter what 
the style may be at the time. The sleeves 
must come to just the right point on the arm 
to be correct. They may come to the wrist, to 
a point just a short distance above the wrist, 
or to the point where the curve of the lower 
arm joins the elbow; they should never come 
just to the elbow, but they may come just 
above the elbow where the curve of the upper 
arm begins ; also, they may come at the termi- 
nation of the muscle on the upper arm near 
the top of the shoulder or just far enough over 
the top of the shoulder to show the curved turn 
of the shoulder. 

Because of the American woman's charac- 
teristically short neck, which, if not a prom- 
inent feature in youth, develops as she takes 
on flesh, it is wise for nearly every woman to 
think twice before wearing a high standing 
collar. A collar shaped to roll a little high 
at the back and to slope to a graceful line in 
front is usually much better, and it may 
adhere as closely as is necessary to any fashion 
requirement. 

A low neck line to be really pretty and cor- 
rect should slope lower to the front than to the 
back; indeed, if this rule is not followed, the 
figure is usually displeasing. 



BEAUTY IN LINES OF FIGURE AND DRESS 1 65 

This rule applies to yoke lines also, but it 
does not carry the same weight when making 
a decollete gown. Then the back neck line 
may be considerably lower, but it is best to 
have this line of different shape; for instance, 
if a round front line is used, the back neck line 
should be V- or U-shaped. 

The height of the bust line should always 
be taken into account in connection with the 
neck line. If your neck is large, the bust 
should be kept as low as possible in order to 
give a good length and thus make the neck 
appear smaller than it is. When square necks 
are worn, they should be carefully propor- 
tioned to the width of the chest and the length 
of the front. 

Flesh at the back of the neck, just below 
the neck line, is almost as noticeable as a goi- 
ter, even if it is not so prominent, for the chin 
overshadows to some extent the goiter at the 
front of the neck line, whereas the flesh at the 
back is very prominent, particularly if the hair 
is done up high on the head. 

Many women are sensitive about this, and 
persist in wearing high collars to conceal it; 
others are of the opinion that the collar accen- 
tuates the flesh, and wear dresses that are low 
at the back of the neck. The latter plan is un- 
satisfactory, however, as the flesh will show 



1 66 SECRETS OF DISTINCTIVE DRESS 

very prominently from the side. A better 
way is to have the neck line extended about 
half way over the fleshy portion and thus make 
it less prominent. 

A good rule to follow in overcoming all 
such irregularities as a full bust, extremely 
high or low hips, a large waist, and so on, is 
this : Do not overtrim or accentuate promi- 
nent figure features by the application of but- 
tons, braids, frogs, embroidery, or any other 
trimming; instead, employ trimming details 
so as to detract from such features. 

In giving instructions to classes of young 
women interested in knowing dress in its high- 
est sense, I have frequently found it helpful 
to suggest that they dress up their friends, and 
you may do the same with profit. Take some 
member of your own family, for instance, your 
mother, and design for her a dress that ex- 
presses her motherliness — her type. Then, 
choose a color that will help make her hair 
appear the softest and her eyes the kindliest. 

Try this. You will find it easy to think of 
the color and to plan the fabric, for, usually, 
the material most suitable for one's mother 
has a smooth surface, is soft in texture, and is 
subdued in color. 

When you begin to consider her figure, you 
may find that the bust and hips are large in 



BEAUTY IN LINES OF FIGURE AND DRESS 167 

proportion to the height, that the hips are 
large in proportion to the bust, or that the 
back length is long in proportion to the front 
length. Then you have a problem of lines. 

For many years, mothers who have acquired 
a little more flesh than is becoming have found 
it difficult to procure appropriate clothes. It 
is not uncommon to see a woman who is over- 
weight wearing a corset entirely too tight and 
much too high above the waist line, and a 
dress fitted as closely as possible around the 
waist, thus emphasizing the ugliest feature of 
the overweight figure. 

Manufacturers of stout women's apparel 
have frequently said: "Camouflage the stout 
woman" ; that is, get materials that have large 
figures and indistinct colorings in patches so 
that the silhouette of the body will not be in 
evidence and that the optic nerve will not be 
able to conceive how large the figure actu- 
ally is. 

But few would like to camouflage their 
mothers as regards dress. They would rather 
have a dress simple in color and design and 
plan it to hang from the shoulder — a dress 
that has a soft belt coming around in a way 
that will give length to the waist line and not 
tell every one precisely within one-fourth inch 
where the waist line begins and where it ends. 



1 68 SECRETS OF DISTINCTIVE DRESS 

One girl who tried this method of learning 
lines designed some dresses for her mother, 
who weighed nearly one hundred and eighty- 
pounds and was only five feet three inches in 
height. 

One of the most successful dresses that she 
made was of silk, a maroon-and-taupe stripe. 
The stripes were irregular, and there were two 
maroon stripes to every one of taupe. The 
dress was made in Russian-blouse effect, with 
a simple straight skirt, the Russian blouse 
coming almost to the knees. A long collar of 
flesh-color crepe was used for the front, com- 
ing down in a V. The sleeves were close- 
fitting, with a little plain cuff of crepe. The 
waist line was finished with a belt, the stripes 
encircling the waist, a maroon stripe in the 
center and a taupe one on each side. The belt, 
which was narrow, crossed in the back and 
looped at the left side front. It went around 
the figure twice — at the normal waist line and 
below it — and thus gave length to the waist 
line. Its crossing in the back took away the 
severe plainness of the back, and yet did not 
interfere with the length. 

The plain, straight sleeves did not empha- 
size the heaviness in the arms, and the crepe 
collar gave just enough coloring to the face. 
The line of the collar gave a long neck line, 



BEAUTY IN LINES OF FIGURE AND DRESS 1 69 

which helped to avoid emphasizing the round- 
ness of the face. 

When this woman sat down in this costume, 
it was graceful and comfortable. The lower 
skirt fell gracefully down to her ankles, mak- 
ing it much more pleasing than if she had had 
a tight skirt that would draw up around her 
figure. This girl — this designer — knew that a 
dress should be as beautiful when the wearer 
is sitting as when she is standing. 

So becoming was this dress for the mother 
that the daughter made some house dresses of 
chambray, gray-and-white stripe for one and 
blue-and-white for another. But she clung 
almost slavishly to this one design of dress. 
She gave as her reason, "I know it is best." 

She did not cling to stripes, however, be- 
cause I once saw her mother wearing a very 
dark-blue silk that was just as pretty as the 
stripes, but the lines of the dress were almost 
identical with the one I had seen made of the 
striped material. 

DRESS SUGGESTIONS FOR THE STOUT WOMAN 
In discussing in this book ways in which to 
overcome irregularities of the figure, I would 
fall short of my wish to be "helpful to all wo- 
men" if I made no suggestions that pertain 
directly to the stout woman. 



I70 SECRETS OF DISTINCTIVE DRESS 

True it is that the stout woman has greater 
odds to overcome than her thin sister and her 
sister of medium form, for it would seem that 
they can wear anything and everything de- 
vised by fashion authorities; yet there is no 
reason why the stout woman should become 
disheartened, for she can and must adopt ideas 
that will be to her advantage. 

As a general rule, a woman does not become 
noticeably stout until she has reached the 
neighborhood of forty. This time of life is 
usually the most trying for any woman, for 
when youth is on the wing it makes necessary 
three things if a woman is to continue to ap- 
pear attractive and pleasing. 

The first of these three things is dignity, the 
second careful grooming, and the third a cor- 
rect selection of color, lines, and fabric, to- 
gether with correct corseting. These three 
things are necessary if a woman's entire cos- 
tume is to be in perfect harmony with her 
individuality, quietly suggesting absolute com- 
fort and ease. 

The saying, "Nobody loves a fat man," may 
be applied to the stout woman, too, for it is 
equally true that nobody admires a fat woman 
— that is, if she looks fat. 

To avoid looking fat, the fleshy woman 
must constantly be a law unto herself. If you 



BEAUTY IN LINES OF FIGURE AND DRESS 1 7 1 

belong to this class, you should not adopt all 
the fads and fancies that come into fashion's 
realm each season; rather, you must be en- 
tirely independent and use good judgment 
regarding every part of your costume. For 
instance, if your neck is short and thick, you 
should not wear "choker" collars of any kind, 
no matter what fashion dictators say. You 
should wear about the neck soft lace that may 
be brought down in front in a V neck line, 
which is a boon to the person with a short 
neck, and if lace is used to finish the neck it 
should be of a quality and texture that will 
blend in with the waist or bodice and seem- 
ingly be lost to the eye. 

Many stout women complain that the styles 
are made for the slender woman and that no 
thought is given to them. This, however, is 
untrue, for fashion people, as a rule, knowing 
the difficulties encountered by many women 
who possess an abundance of flesh, really do 
give a great deal of attention to designing 
attractive garments for them. 

To get the best results, the woman of this 
type should realize that a garment made for 
her should not be an exact copy of the prevail- 
ing fashion, but rather an adaptation of that 
style to suit her proportions and give indi- 
vidual line. 



172 SECRETS OF DISTINCTIVE DRESS 

Two things should always be borne in mind 
by the stout woman in choosing a garment; 
namely, that up-and-down lines give slender- 
ness and round-and-round lines tend to accen- 
tuate thickness. 

The waists that may be worn advanta- 
geously by the stout woman are those with 
straight vests and "Gibson plaits," those with 
yokes formed of tucks that are straight from 
the shoulder down, surplice waists, and, in 
fact, any waist with lines that extend length- 
wise of the figure. 

Skirts, whether full or narrow, that are cut 
as long as possible without attracting undue 
attention to their length or causing discom- 
fort, long tunic skirts, plain, straight-plaited 
skirts, and panels are desirable for the stout 
woman; but she should avoid tiered skirts or 
skirts with ruffles, shirring, and excessive or 
crosswise trimming. 

The sleeves for the stout woman should be 
plain and soft in appearance and have a ten- 
dency to cling to the arm. If the forearm is 
large and heavy, a sleeve that comes just below 
the elbow or at a point three or four inches 
above the wrist is suitable. 

Long, bulky sleeves, however, should never 
be worn on a heavy forearm. If long sleeves 
are worn, they should be made to fit very close 



BEAUTY IN LINES OF FIGURE AND DRESS 1 73 

below the elbow, and the lower part of the 
sleeve should be finished with a frill of lace 
or fabric or with a moderately small, light- 
weight, flaring cuff, which will make the hand 
appear smaller when a glove is not worn. 

The stout woman should never expose her 
shoulders and upper arms when in evening 
attire; rather, she should cover the flesh with 
filmy lace or chiffon, or she should wear a 
scarf of tulle, preferably of black or silent 
tone, across the shoulders and the arms. 
White will make the arms appear larger than 
they are, and black will give the opposite 
effect. 

In trimming garments, the stout woman 
should remember that buttons or trimmings 
placed in flat patch effect, as in squares, tri- 
angles, or diamonds, will tend to add thick- 
ness, while if they are arranged in single rows 
or broken lines they will give the appearance 
of length instead of breadth. 

Use should always be made of trimmings in 
harmonizing, rather than contrasting, colors, 
so that they will not stand out boldly from 
the garment. 

Never should the collar, the belt, or the 
finish at the bottom of the skirt be permitted 
to attract the eye before the garment itself 
does. Instead, they should be arranged so as 



174 SECRETS OF DISTINCTIVE DRESS 

to be as inconspicuous as possible, and in using 
tucks, plaits, or seams they should be made to 
extend up and down the garment instead of 
around it. 

In selecting material for garments, the stout 
woman frequently makes the mistake of choos- 
ing wide stripes, having perhaps heard or 
read that stripes tend to make a person look 
slender. She can wear striped material, but 
the stripes, as a rule, must be fine and without 
define color or line. 

Stout women, and, in fact, most women, 
look better in materials of plain or indistinct 
design in harmonizing colors than in decided 
color combinations. 

It is always well to remember, too, that ma- 
terials with glossy, brilliant surface or finish, 
no matter what the color of the fabric may be, 
are difficult to wear and are not generally be- 
coming, because the sheen and in some in- 
stances the stiffness of the fabric tend to make 
the figure appear larger; whereas, materials 
of soft finish or dull colors will make the fig- 
ure appear smaller and attract less attention. 

In selecting material for skirts, stout wo- 
men should usually choose plain fabric with a 
narrow or an invisible stripe and of a texture 
that is as soft and pliable as Dame Fashion 
permits. 



BILLIE BURKE 

Simplicity dignifies her costumes and helps her to radiate 
the delightful charm of womanhood. 



IUJ2O0 -isii ?3fiin§ib vJpHqnu<2 
.bnorlriEmow to rrriErfo lulirisilab idi 




Famous Player 



CHAPTER VII 

IMPORTANCE OF SUITABLE FABRICS 

RELATION OF COLOR, LINE, AND FABRIC — SUCCESSFUL 
COMBINING OF FABRICS — SUITABILITY OF FABRIC 

DESIGNS FOR INDIVIDUALS GUARDING AGAINST 

CONTRADICTORY LINES SUITABILITY OF FABRICS. 

Having told you about color and line, I 
must next direct your attention to the impor- 
tance of fabric in distinctive dress. It is on 
three things — color, line, and fabric — that 
dress harmony depends. 

A prominent textile manufacturer said to 
me one time, repeating his statement twice, 
with emphasis, "Women must learn to appre- 
ciate textiles in order to use them properly." 

In further conversation, I found that he 
held considerable sentiment regarding the 
using of fabrics for certain purposes. He 
seemed to know just how, where, and by whom 
velvet, charmeuse, voile, organdie, gingham, 
and all other fabrics should be worn. 

We frequently err — miserably err — in our 
use of fabrics, and this is a pity. If we re- 
alized the important part that fabrics play in 
supplying our needs, in helping us to express 

175 



176 SECRETS OF DISTINCTIVE DRESS 

individuality in dress, we would study them 
and respect them. 

The textile industry is of great importance, 
being the third largest industry in the world. 
Hundreds and hundreds of people of artistic 
ability lend their energies toward making 
beautiful fabrics, and the woman who knows 
how much skill and effort are put into the 
creating of one yard of silk, of one yard of 
wool, or of a bit of lace cannot handle a piece 
of material without experiencing a certain 
amount of reverence and respect. When she 
has this feeling or attitude toward materials, 
she will almost intuitively know how to use 
them properly. 

Fabric and its color may be said to control 
the lines and the purpose of a garment, for, as 
you will readily see, the design of a garment 
depends considerably on the weight of the 
fabric and its colors. 

To illustrate my point, let us take a fluffy, 
airy fabric. Such fabric at once suggests a 
design of frills and puffs. Such a design, in 
turn, controls the garment lines, because frills 
and puffs in nowise conform to the silhouette 
of the figure. Also, if such fabric is of a light 
shade or a brilliant hue, it will bring to mind 
a garment for evening wear, as such colors 
appear bright in artificial light. If it is 



IMPORTANCE OF SUITABLE FABRICS 177 

white, or of a dark or subdued shade, it may 
suggest a dress for morning or afternoon wear. 
Again, lines that conform to the silhouette 
of one's figure are suggested by tailoring fab- 
rics or materials, because the weight of such 
fabrics will not bear development in either 
full or pretentious styles, it being necessary to 
press them firm and flat to bring out their real 
beauty. 

SUCCESSFUL COMBINING OF FABRICS 
In connection with fabrics, bear in mind 
that the material for a garment should always 
be suitable for the design that is to be used. 
Very frequently the mistake is made of trying 
to combine lace, frills, ruffles, and ribbon with 
materials suitable for only plain tailored de- 
signs or of trying to combine them into a fluffy 
style. 

Just as garments of taffeta and other similar 
fabrics, lace, and so on should be as fluffy and 
feminine as it is possible to make them, so 
should tailoring materials be made into tail- 
ored gowns or suits that are as plain in line as 
prevailing styles will permit. 

Do not attempt to use material with a hard 
surface in a design that has a tendency to stand 
out from the body. The very fact that its sur- 
face is hard, wiry, and uncontrollable should 



178 SECRETS OF DISTINCTIVE DRESS 

be sufficient warning to employ it in only such 
a way as will give the most pleasing effect. 

In using such contrary fabrics, pay atten- 
tion to the color, too. Brilliant, hard colors 
should be avoided to get the best results. In 
such fabric, the softer the tone the softer will 
appear the garment when worn. On the other 
hand, brighter colors may be used in crepe de 
Chine and soft satins and taffetas, as these 
materials have a tendency to cling to the fig- 
ure and thus give a softness of line that modi- 
fies the color. 

In draped designs, as in a skirt of several 
tiers, for instance, you can readily see how 
soft taffeta may be worked in artistically, each 
tier holding itself in its place and giving a 
very desirable effect. 

So also may lace and other materials of soft, 
firm weave be used ; but if you attempt to use 
in the same design a firm, hard material, such 
as brilliantine, alpaca, or mohair, all of which 
are of a seemingly contrary weave, the result 
will be disappointing, and especially will 
this be so if you employ such materials for 
ruffles, unlined boleros, berthas, shirring, 
and so on. 

Avoid using too many kinds of material in 
one dress ; as, for instance, velvet, taffeta, and 
charmeuse. Do not use silk and cotton or cot- 



IMPORTANCE OF SUITABLE FABRICS 179 

ton and linen together, unless you are positive 
that the combination is agreeable. 

Velvet, because it is silk and because of its 
sheen, is better to use with satin, with its sheen, 
or with Georgette crepe, which has absolutely 
no sheen and is soft and limp enough to give 
way entirely to the prominence of the velvet. 

When heavy deep-colored material is used 
for the body of a dress, and sheerer sleeves are 
to be used, do not make the mistake of having 
the sleeve material too thin, as, for instance, 
to use chiffon instead of a fairly heavy quality 
of Georgette crepe. 

Avoid using silk voile and Georgette; satin 
and taffeta; serge and cheviot. These ma- 
terials "war" when in combination. 

Do not use ribbon for a sash or a collar 
trimming on a dress that has satin or silk as a 
trimming, unless you use it cleverly and for a 
definite purpose. Select material for collars 
with care. A safe plan is to decide whether 
the purpose of the collar is to give a "light 
reflection" to the face, to soften the neck line, 
or to serve as a trimming feature. Find your 
reason; then you will invariably use the cor- 
rect material. 



13 



l8o SECRETS OF DISTINCTIVE DRESS 



SUITABILITY OF FABRIC DESIGNS FOR 
INDIVIDUALS 

For the sake of harmony, always give care- 
ful consideration to the design of a fabric. 
Large-figured materials, especially brocades, 
striped and plaid materials with prominent 
patterns, demand the greatest attention, be- 
cause they are possibly the hardest of all ma- 
terials to develop successfully. 

A little girl can wear prominent plaids 
very well, because the lines of her garments 
are usually straight and simple and not cut up 
or broken; but she cannot wear large-figured 
brocades, because the body pieces of her gar- 
ment are so small that the result would be 
patchy. 

The large woman, however, can wear large- 
figured brocades very successfully, provided 
the lines of her garment are straight and plain 
and conform almost exactly to the outline of 
her figure ; but the small woman, the same as 
the child, should avoid such materials, for she 
will not appear to the best advantage in them. 

The statement I have just made may appear 
contrary to the general rule, for it would seem 
that large-figured materials have a tendency 
to make small women appear larger ; however, 
as such materials are most beautiful when de- 



IMPORTANCE OF SUITABLE FABRICS l8l 

veloped in plain style, the brocade figures on 
a small woman might appear so prominent 
that the effect would not be pleasing. 

In pompadour silks, however, the opposite 
is true. Taffetas with large bouquets of 
flowers are more attractive for the small wo- 
man, provided they are made in a fluffy 
fashion or if they are puffed in such a way, as 
in a pannier skirt, as not to appear broken or 
crushed ; yet you should always remember that 
the heavy brocades, unless of taffeta, should be 
made up in straight lines, with the design as 
unbroken as possible. 

One finds in the shops such a delightful 
variety of materials that there is no excuse for 
using any of them incorrectly. 

A young girl of sixteen or eighteen is charm- 
ing in ruffled and frilled organdie, provided 
her body is small enough to permit her to wear 
fluffy attire; but the woman of thirty-five or 
forty usually appears better in softer ma- 
terials, such as voile and soft crepes, because 
she should express dignity, because the lines 
in her face — and there are usually a few in- 
distinct ones at that time — should be secluded 
and protected behind a background of friendly 
material. 

Hard-surface materials, such as cheviots 
and tweeds, are rarely becoming for a mature 



1 82 SECRETS OF DISTINCTIVE DRESS 

woman, because the softer smooth-surface ma- 
terials, such as broadcloth and duvetyn, lend 
themselves so much better to her require- 
ments. 

The women of England exercise discrimi- 
nation in wearing materials. In the morning, 
while shopping or on an outing expedition, 
they will be in tweeds or in plain, severely 
tailored materials. In the afternoon, they will 
be in soft velvets and broadcloth ; in the eve- 
ning, in velvets, silks, or soft crepes, chiffons, 
and voiles, the material entirely in accord 
with the season and the fashion. These wo- 
men have an inborn taste for the use of fabrics 
that many of us may well strive to acquire. 

GUARDING AGAINST CONTRADICTORY LINES 
To get proper results in dress designing, 
always guard very carefully against the use 
of contradictory lines — and by these I mean 
lines that do not run in the same direction; for 
instance, a round, square, or pointed yoke with 
belt or sleeve trimming used in an opposite 
way. 

Such designs can be used harmoniously in 
one garment, provided great care is taken to 
keep the garment well balanced. However, 
if stripes are used in the yoke, belt, or cuffs, 
then the remaining stripes of the garment 



IMPORTANCE OF SUITABLE FABRICS 1 83 

should, in nearly every case, run lengthwise in 
order to make part of the figure appear as 
trimming and the other as the body part of 
the garment. 

Sometimes a pleasing effect may be had in 
one garment by arranging the stripes so as to 
be vertical, horizontal, and diagonal; but in 
most cases the effect is not pleasing, for it is 
without doubt a difficult style to develop suc- 
cessfully and only the most courageous would 
attempt to construct a garment in this way. 

When plaids and stripes are used together, 
you will find that it is practically impossible 
to get a harmonious effect from them, because 
one detracts from the other, producing a very 
inharmonious result. 

On the other hand, plain material combines 
admirably with either stripes or plaids, as it 
has a tendency to modify and yet give the de- 
sired prominence to the stripes or the plaid. 

Large-figured brocades, pompadour silks, 
etc. are best made entirely of themselves ; how- 
ever, if lace or trimming is used with such 
materials, it should be less conspicuous than 
the material itself in order that the material 
may stand out and thus emphasize its own 
beauty. 

Speaking of plaids and stripes brings to my 
mind a woman rather large in stature who 



184 SECRETS OF DISTINCTIVE DRESS 

dresses her hair very plain and wears plaid 
ginghams of vivid colorings in her home. 
She seems to have an endless number of such 
dresses, but they are so out of keeping with 
her surroundings as to jar your "respect for 
fabrics." 

Plaids are beautiful. There is nothing 
really prettier for children than plaid ging- 
hams; but they are rarely suitable for a wo- 
man whose very size demands no emphasis. 

SUITABILITY OF FABRICS 
There is a wealth of beauty in fabrics and 
they offer an excellent opportunity to express 
individuality and good taste in dress for the 
house, where so many people seem to think "it 
does not matter what you wear, so long as you 
are home." The simplest materials, such as 
the inexpensive cottons — voile, crepe, chintz, 
and zephyr gingham — lend themselves de- 
lightfully to home dresses. 

I know a woman whose first-floor rooms are 
very artistically furnished in blue and gray, 
whose boudoir is in rose and ivory, and whose 
sewing room — "her workshop" she calls it — 
is in softest gray. This woman, with this 
attractive, agreeable home, finds it necessary 
to do a great deal of the work of keeping it 
up herself. 



IMPORTANCE OF SUITABLE FABRICS 1 85 

In the morning, she will come down with 
a little dress of unbleached, unstarched, 
smoothly ironed muslin. It may have a little 
cross-stitching of blue or a little soft lace col- 
lar, but it is so simple that it does not interfere 
with the surroundings, and no matter whether 
she is in the living room, in the dining room, 
or in the kitchen, she makes a pleasing picture. 

In the afternoon, she may be in a little rose- 
colored or cream dress of soft voile, or it may 
be white, or it may be a light pink; but it is 
of a color sufficiently indefinite and of fabric 
soft enough not to conflict with the tints and 
shades and soft drapery effects in her rooms. 

I like to let my eyes follow this woman 
around about in her home — see how the color 
and fabrics used in her frocks lend themselves 
to the furnishings of each and every room — 
how she seems to blend intimately and grace- 
fully into the attractive background she has so 
cleverly provided. 



CHAPTER VIII 
DEVELOPING YOUR STYLE 

GOOD TASTE IN DRESS GETTING IDEAS FROM GOOD AND 

BAD DRESSERS — READY-TO-WEAR GARMENTS AS AN 

AID HINTS FROM FASHION MAGAZINES COLOR 

SUGGESTIONS FROM FASHION PLATES — INTERPRET- 
ING FASHIONS OTHER SOURCES OF INFORMATION 

ACQUIRING SUCCESSFUL RESULTS — YOUR STYLE. 

When you have learned what type of gar- 
ment is most becoming to you, how to select 
styles, and how to combine materials, you 
will be able to dress distinctively, in good 
taste, and much more economically than your 
neighbor who has not taken time to study the 
principles of dress and what it means in the 
way of adornment, developing ideals, and 
ultimate economy. 

Women who know but little about sewing 
often marvel at the woman who at a glance 
can tell from the material just what style 
would be best suited to that material, or who, 
when she sees a person, can say quickly and 
with authority what kind of dress that person 
should wear to bring out her individual type 
of beauty. 

187 



100 SECRETS OF DISTINCTIVE DRESS 

Ability in this direction is usually attributed 
to cleverness or unusual talent; however, you 
who understand dress harmony can acquire 
such ability. With a thorough understanding 
of line, material, and color you will be able 
to determine instantly the fitness of certain 
lines to certain types, and you can broaden 
your knowledge by carefully observing indi- 
viduals and styles and the way in which indi- 
viduals adapt certain styles to themselves. 

GETTING IDEAS FROM GOOD AND BAD DRESSERS 
The true artist does not mar nor disfigure 
the surface he wishes to decorate; rather, he 
works with one thought in mind — beauty of 
the whole. The dressmaker or home woman 
who makes really beautiful garments must 
have not only the qualifications of a designer, 
but the artistic sense of the artist — must under- 
stand line and its relation to color and the 
individual. 

An excellent way in which you may acquire 
a broad, practical knowledge of good line is 
to observe carefully and discriminately the 
women who wear really nice clothes and those 
who wear really ordinary clothes. 

Women in dowdy clothes rarely show evi- 
dence of style or thought of design, nor do 
they show any regard for the essentials of 



DEVELOPING YOUR STYLE 1 89 

correct dress; thus they teach the observer to 
avoid any such condition in making up gar- 
ments. 

Women who wear really good garments will 
serve other women as an inspiration to better 
dressing, and their costumes will suggest possi- 
bilities in other fabrics, colors, and designs. 

To achieve distinctiveness in dress, never 
overlook the opportunity of going where good 
clothes are to be seen — receptions, parties, 
club meetings, in fact, all places where differ- 
ent kinds of costumes are worn. Study the 
suitability of the garment for the occasion. 
Study closely the accessories to the costume, 
and note how they bring out or detract from 
the costume itself ; then, in matters regarding 
your own dress or the dress of others, you will 
be able to suggest little touches that will en- 
hance the beauty of a costume and add materi- 
ally to its attractiveness. 

The theater is an excellent field of inspira- 
tion for constructive development in good 
dressing, not only from the point of correct 
and pleasing line and color in dress, but as 
an expression of character or type and appro- 
priateness of environment and occasion. 

A successful actress, as I have said before, 
not infrequently owes a large measure of her 
success to a close and intelligent study of dress. 



1 90 SECRETS OF DISTINCTIVE DRESS 

Far-seeing theater managers demand a strict 
adherence to the best in prevailing and his- 
torical modes, knowing that, even when not 
fully understood by all their public, the 
natural feeling of pleasure and satisfaction 
obtained from the presentation of correct cos- 
tuming has much to do with the ultimate suc- 
cess of their production. 

It is frequently said that the church-going 
women folk evidence splendid taste in dress, 
and that the clothes they wear are excellent 
style criterions, because they are appropriate 
for the majority. 

A prominent New York designer made a 
practice of attending a Fifth Avenue church 
to study the styles of the women in attendance. 
It may perchance seem irreverent to consider 
fashion in connection with church. But how 
many times at Sunday dinner, when the text 
of the sermon has been discussed, does not 
some member of the family say, "Did you 
notice what a pretty dress or hat Miss or Mrs. 
So and So had on this morning?" 

"The artisan hurries through his work to 
get his dinner; the artist hurries through his 
dinner to get to his work," is a saying that 
may well be applied directly to the person 
who is conscientiously interested in the study 
of clothes. 



DEVELOPING YOUR STYLE 191 

You will study clothes and admire or criti- 
cize them according to your taste and your 
knowledge of what clothes express. 

READY-TO-WEAR GARMENTS AS AN AID 
Ready-to-wear garments are also worthy of 
study in developing good taste in dress. 

Such garments are constructed as nearly as 
manufacturers can plan to please the masses 
of women, in the majority of cases being hur- 
riedly made and without much regard for 
workmanship. Rather than durability or 
practicability of the garment, it is the general 
outline — the style effect — they strive for, and 
it is for this reason that the dressmaker or the 
woman who makes her own clothes should 
observe such garments carefully. 

Oftentimes ready-to-wear garments display 
a smartness produced by the carefully careless 
way they are put together, a smartness that is 
often lost — killed, as it were — by the woman 
who sews too carefully and too well. It is 
well to remember this, and learn from ready- 
to-wear garments, when making clothes for 
yourself, to strive occasionally for effect rather 
than perfection in workmanship. When both 
qualities are attained, namely, that of being 
able to impart style and good workmanship 
to a garment, the triumph is complete. 



192 SECRETS OF DISTINCTIVE DRESS 



HINTS FROM FASHION MAGAZINES 

Fashion magazines are of the utmost impor- 
tance to any woman who is interested in dress. 

In studying any fashion magazine, consider 
each figure separately. If two or more ma- 
terials are used in its development, strive to 
determine particularly why they are em- 
ployed. Proper regard for such details is 
valuable, for it will serve to point out to you 
why certain materials are required for certain 
styles. 

Strive not to be like the woman who went 
to a dressmaker and said, "I want a pannier 
skirt. I want a little puff sleeve, but I want 
it in soft, clinging crepe, because I am very 
fond of that material. I think it is beautiful. 
The softness appeals to me." 

Then you will not have to be informed, as 
this woman was, that "crepe was designed by 
the manufacturer for clinging garments and is 
rarely adapted to the fluffy style of the pannier 
skirt and puff sleeves." 

Of course, taffetas, organdies, and crisp 
batistes are suitable for such styles, and a men- 
tal picture of a pannier skirt of crepe and 
another one of taffeta will show you instantly 
why fabrics must be designed to suit styles and 
styles to suit materials. 



DEVELOPING YOUR STYLE 1 93 

COLOR SUGGESTIONS FROM FASHION PLATES 
When you have studied individual designs 
enough to be able to note instantly what kind 
of pattern is required, as well as what kind of 
material is best suited to the design, and can 
harmoniously adapt color to the lines of the 
garment and fabric used, you will be able to 
conceive pleasing results. 

It is true that the fashion people cannot pro- 
duce in their fashion plates an absolute like- 
ness of the color the textile manufacturer 
gives us in fabrics ; nor can they give an abso- 
lutely true outline of a garment as it will 
appear when developed in material. How- 
ever, when you understand lines you will be 
able to get suggestions from the color plates 
shown in fashion magazines and elsewhere, 
and with this knowledge of lines you will be 
able to give prominence to the color that will 
bring out the garment to the best advantage, 
to use successfully the soft, silent tones or tints 
where only a suggestion or variation of color 
is desired; also, you will be able to choose a 
fabric that will successfully carry out the lines 
suggested by a fashion drawing. 



194 SECRETS OF DISTINCTIVE DRESS 

INTERPRETING FASHIONS 

A number of excellent fashion magazines 
that have no pattern service are published 
merely to suggest style tendencies and color 
and fabric combinations. 

If you know patterns and have studied lines, 
such magazines will be invaluable to you, for 
you can get from them ideas and suggestions 
that you can incorporate in your garments. 

In many cases, you may apply them more 
successfully than the artist has done in his 
drawings, because you can bring out the prac- 
ticability of the garment, adapt it to the ma- 
terial, and give the harmonious outline that 
suits you. 

Some of the ultra fashion books contain 
seemingly grotesque styles, their general 
make-up and their silhouette appearing im- 
possible from a practical standpoint when 
their development is considered in the fabric 
and for the human figure. 

The designs in these same magazines, how- 
ever, are worthy of consideration, for they 
contain in them illusive, impractical, but ar- 
tistic, even clever, ideas that may be utilized 
in the production of original and pleasing 
garments, provided you have developed a 
sense of originality or initiative in dress. 



DEVELOPING YOUR STYLE 1 95 

For example, in some of these seemingly 
freakish models may be found an attractive 
collar or a suggestion for a cuff, a finish for 
the waist line, or a front closing, any one of 
which is particularly pleasing, and if you have 
an eye for the fitness of style and line to fabrics 
and their correct color development, you can 
work these around in such a way as to get re- 
sults that express individuality and good taste. 

Modifications of these seemingly freakish 
modes often result, too, in the creation of gar- 
ments that are decidedly distinctive and orig- 
inal, but still of a style that is in harmony with 
the original. 

OTHER SOURCES OF INFORMATION 
If you are anxious to know the right thing 
regarding matters of dress, pay strict attention 
also to the fashion notes given in the various 
magazines and newspapers. 

Even advertisements pertaining to gar- 
ments, materials, and so on will help you in 
acquiring a knowledge of the kind of material 
suited to your lines and your type, and will 
bring about a successful, harmonious develop- 
ment of the newest and best styles. 

If the fashion notes or advertisements sug- 
gest some fabric or color with which you are 
not familiar, go to the store where they may 

14 



196 SECRETS OF DISTINCTIVE DRESS 

be seen and observe them closely. Especially 
is this plan a good one for you to adopt in your 
effort to become familiar with new fabrics, 
especially the coloring, weight, and texture. 

If a reliable store is not accessible, a letter, 
with a self-addressed and stamped envelope, 
will usually bring samples to you from a first- 
class merchandise house in a few days. The 
names given in fashion books regarding ma- 
terials and colors are generally authentic, and 
you can, by asking for them by name, receive 
just the samples desired. 

Right here I want to caution you about the 
buying of bargain materials. Nothing is a 
bargain that cannot be used to advantage. 

In order to buy materials intelligently, it is 
absolutely necessary to keep pace with style 
tendencies. For instance, when styles are 
bouffant, fluffy, and airy, it means that crepe 
de Chine, soft, clinging crepes, and the like 
are to be avoided. At such times, merchants 
throughout the country who have such ma- 
terials on hand do not, as a rule, wish to carry 
them in stock until another season, and invari- 
ably put them on sale at a great reduction in 
price. 

If, at the time of these sales, you have occa- 
sion to use such materials for some specific 
purpose, you can usually pick up bargains, 



DEVELOPING YOUR STYLE 197 

and it is well to do so; however, if you can 
afford only a few dresses and wish always to 
appear smart, give considerable thought to 
your purchases in order to make sure that the 
materials selected will fill your needs. 

If a dress is made up in a style that is in 
keeping with the mode of the day, but of ma- 
terial that is not in keeping, it will immedi- 
ately be marked as a poor attempt at 
smartness. 

In many cases, new styles call for new fab- 
rics, and those which a person has been accus- 
tomed to using will be absolutely out of the 
question, no amount of effort being possible 
to make them assume any semblance of the 
prevailing mode. 

With such thoughts in mind, you should 
think carefully before you purchase material 
at the bargain counter, because it is possible 
that you will tie up your money in material 
that is not up to date and will encounter no 
end of difficulty in trying to reproduce the 
new styles with it. 

Any person whose allowance for clothes is 
limited should always endeavor to spend every 
dollar to the best advantage. 



198 SECRETS OF DISTINCTIVE DRESS 



ACQUIRING SUCCESSFUL RESULTS 
In the development and use of good taste 
in dress, you must always be progressive — al- 
ways on the alert for new things, new color 
combinations, new lines, and always ready to 
make use of new ideas as they are given out. 
The manufacturer, the designer of styles, 
the fashion authorities, all do their best to pro- 
duce new and attractive ideas in style, color, 
and fabric, and if you would keep abreast of 
the times, take the new ideas that are offered 
and make the most of them; apply them to 
your needs in a way that is practical and ser- 
viceable. And here again is the necessity for 
a knowledge broad and flexible enough to 
enable one to take the sometimes seemingly 
impossible and successfully develop it. 

When you are about to develop a new gar- 
ment and you desire inspiration from prevail- 
ing style motifs, first ascertain from what this 
motif is derived — whether it is from an estab- 
lished or basic principle of design, pure in line 
and true in its relation to the lines of the 
figure, or whether it is a whimsical or erratic 
striving for something new and different in 
design without proper regard for its purpose, 
which is, or should be, that of clothing the 
human form comfortably and artistically. If 



DEVELOPING YOUR STYLE 1 99 

the design cannot measure up to such points, 
there is no reason for its acceptance. 

Next, determine the time and intensity of 
the present vogue of the style motif ; that is, 
the period of its first appearance and the 
interest or popularity it has developed or is 
enjoying. For example, indications of the 
style motif come slowly, notwithstanding 
many opinions to the contrary. If you believe 
that style changes are effected overnight, you 
lack a proper knowledge of what constitutes 
style. You are confusing style with fashion. 

Style is the motif, the treatment, the design, 
the entire ensemble, as it were, of the garment, 
which includes design, material, color, and 
workmanship; fashion is the popularity of a 
certain style, the common trend, the rage, as 
it may be called, the last term it would seem 
being fit when certain periods of women's 
dress are reflected on. 

If you desire style rather than, fashion, ex- 
amine the newest silhouette or outline. For 
example, if wide, flaring skirts, natural waist- 
line effects, and full sleeves are at the height 
of popular favor, search until you find a 
changing tendency, which will invariably be 
a decrease in skirt widths, the moving of the 
waist line, and a changing of sleeve outlines. 
If, on the other hand, the narrow skirt and 



200 SECRETS OF DISTINCTIVE DRESS 

general appearance of slimness is the sil- 
houette preeminent, you may rest assured that 
a change in the other direction is inevitable. 

Fashion moves like a pendulum, and you 
will never be dressed in faulty style or entirely 
out of fashion if you anticipate, after a correct 
analysis of current modes, what will most 
surely follow. 

It is to your advantage, then, not only to 
keep up with the prevailing fashions, but to 
keep as far as possible abreast of the popular 
mode. By this study of style and fashion, 
along with the proper knowledge and appre- 
ciation of your needs, it is not unreasonable to 
assert that you may always be dressed in good 
style and in fashion, for the life of every gar- 
ment chosen will be materially prolonged and 
greater satisfaction and comfort, as well as 
practical economy, will most surely result. 

Learn to buy materials that are good, prac- 
tical, durable, and beautiful ; avoid eccentrici- 
ties, and choose lines that are in accord with 
your type of figure. Then your gown or suit 
will be agreeably appropriate for two years 
rather than for six months. 

To be constantly awake to new things does 
not mean that everything must be adopted ; it 
means that through your thorough knowledge 
of lines, color, and fabrics, you will be able 



DEVELOPING YOUR STYLE 201 



to discard the bad and choose only the things 
that will give satisfactory results and be pleas- 
ing and serviceable. 

To know dress well is to keep growing. 
You cannot afford to feel satisfied that you 
know all there is to be known about clothes. 
You must remember that many persons are 
devoting hours of earnest effort each day in 
bringing out the very best things in fabrics, 
style, and color, and that these people, as they 
are experts in their lines, can give you many 
good ideas and help you achieve your desires 
by aiding you in keeping you informed on the 
ever-changing problems of dress. 

Always work for a happy medium, and 
never allow yourself to get into a rut regard- 
ing your clothes. It is well to keep style and 
color constantly in mind, never losing sight of 
yourself, for few are ideal in either face or 
figure and frequently require modified styles 
to bring out their charm or individual beauty. 

Individual development of style is one thing 
that makes the clever individual's interpreta- 
tion superior to ready-to-wear garments, and 
when consideration is given to the durability 
or lasting qualities of a garment that is care- 
fully made by one who understands dress, such 
garments are so much superior to ready-to- 
wear garments that there is no comparison. 



202 SECRETS OF DISTINCTIVE DRESS 

Regard dress and its correct use and de- 
velopment as an art, just as the musician or 
the painter considers his work an art. Strive 
to have your dresses creations — harmonious 
pictures. 

Such dresses may be created by a combina- 
tion of certain factors that produce a oneness 
of effect, a harmoniously pleasing result; and 
as you develop a garment you will be satisfied 
or dissatisfied with the result according to the 
ideal you have set for your work and to the 
amount of thought and effort that you have 
put into it. 

There is always great opportunity for the 
woman who is willing to give plenty of study 
and earnest effort and thought to the designing 
and making of her clothes. 

Many of our greatest creators of fashion in 
an effort to get a desired effect labor over a 
certain gown or suit for seemingly unreason- 
able lengths of time. Surrounded by yards of 
chiffon, silks, laces, and similar materials from 
which they can get inspiration, their every 
thought, in fact, their whole being, centers 
upon the creation in mind, and they gradually 
develop the thought, the effect they want, and 
with this done the details, the general con- 
struction, and the finishing of the garment 
itself seem of minor importance. 



DEVELOPING YOUR STYLE 203 

Beautiful dresses, those which stand out 
most prominently in fashion's history, are de- 
veloped by the bringing together of certain 
fabrics and certain colors ; and, in striving to 
get harmony out of their combinations, there 
are developed suitable lines that in many in- 
stances make striking creations. 

Such effects are often produced during the 
development of a gown — nothing cut and 
dried about it; all inspired work is work of 
love, and in the creating of clothes, the inspi- 
ration must be supplemented by a knowledge 
of color combinations, fabric combinations, 
and lines. 

Such garments are, as a rule, creations in 
every sense of the word: — a work of art — for 
they are generally artistic and harmonious. 
There is life to such garments. They are usu- 
ally strong in line and show evidence of de- 
velopment by a master hand. Only by such 
devotion, by a full appreciation of all the 
elements of garment construction, and a con- 
tinual striving for the beautiful, are these cre- 
ations possible. 

The woman making dresses for herself must 
have studied dress principles enough to sup- 
port her own ideals. 

From what has been said you will readily 
see that the development of good taste in line, 



204 SECRETS OF DISTINCTIVE DRESS 

color, material, and suitability as to color com- 
bination of material and to style of the gar- 
ment are arrived at only by diligent study of 
the artistic and practical relation of one to the 
other; then application and the determination 
to apply them to yourself are the mediums 
through which excellent results are expressed. 
Sustained work, conscientious study, and a 
pride in achievement will bring forth results 
that spasmodic effort never can. 

You may not always be satisfied with your 
result, no matter if you have put a great 
amount of labor, conscientious thought, and 
honest effort into the production of a garment. 
When it is completed you will see where cer- 
tain things that would improve it might have 
gone into the gown. Strive to have each new 
garment an improvement on the last by in- 
corporating in it the good points missing in 
the one before. 

And as you go on and develop clothes for 
yourself, and, as I have suggested, dress up 
your friends by planning in your mind what 
they should wear and why they should wear 
certain things, you will acquire not only the 
correct principles of dress, but the high ideals 
of dress — ideals that will put dress and its 
mission in the high position it should have in 
your mind. 



DEVELOPING YOUR STYLE 205 

Your consideration about dress, your cor- 
rect adherence to the principles and the carry- 
ing out of your ideals, will make your friends 
and acquaintances take notice of you and will 
invariably awaken in them a desire for the 
right kind of clothes. 

So, you see, it is an endless chain, for if you 
will lay the foundation for the understanding 
of dress, as in any other subject, you will have 
a following and an opportunity to do much 
toward helping American women to be dis- 
tinctively clothed. 

YOUR STYLE 

Your style is important. Ask yourself every 
time you buy anything, every time you make 
anything, or have anything made: Is it in 
accord with my style? Does it meet the re- 
quirements of correct dress for me? 

If you live in a little city or a village and sud- 
denly find yourself on Fifth Avenue in New 
York City, would you feel conspicuous in your 
clothes? If you had friends from the fashion 
centers of America coming to visit you, would 
you feel out of place in your costume? You 
should not. You have the same opportunity 
to be correctly dressed as any other woman if 
you will study and persevere toward perfec- 
tion in dress. 



206 SECRETS OF DISTINCTIVE DRESS 

We must realize that we have a style of our 
own and that we are of a particular type. 
This is recognized by every fashion authority 
in the country, and by every fashion publica- 
tion, for if all women were to adhere to one 
fashion, one fashion only would be shown in 
the fashion books instead of twenty, thirty, or 
fifty different designs. 

Look through any fashion book today and 
you will find round-and-round and up-and- 
down lines in the same issue — all with the idea 
of helping women to clothe themselves cor- 
rectly and of giving suggestions that will help 
them individually to find appropriate styles. 

Establishing a style for yourself and then 
perfecting it — be it in hats, gloves, shoes, 
dresses, or suits — will prove economical, and 
it will not be long before a degree of perfec- 
tion will be acquired. 

A prominent New York business woman, 
who is one of the most distinctively dressed 
women that I know, wears the smartest suits 
and hats and always severely tailor-made 
gowns. And her neckwear, usually a jabot or 
a stock, is so smart that you would never for 
a minute question but what it is authoritatively 
fashionable. She always wears high shoes on 
the street, and usually they have light-colored 
tops, because she is tall and the light tops of 



DEVELOPING YOUR STYLE 207 

the shoes help to break the appearance of 
height. 

One day, this young woman came to visit 
me. I could not refrain from remarking 
about the completeness of her costume. I 
said, "If I saw your shadow, I should know 
that it was you by the harmony that your 
silhouette expresses and the very way you 
carry yourself." 

She said, "Do you know that remarks like 
yours is what caused me to persevere in ac- 
quiring my style of dressing? I used to think 
I wanted loose, floppy clothes in which I 
could relax and be just as free and comfort- 
able as if I were in negligee. Once, when in 
a ferry boat crossing New York harbor, I saw 
sitting opposite me a line of crumpled-up wo- 
men apparently enjoying their slovenly pos- 
ture. Not one of them expressed dignity or 
pride in her personal appearance. Not one of 
the women on that boat, I thought, was un- 
usual or had any desire to know better. I then 
took a little self-inventory. I was ashamed of 
myself, because I realized that I was not very 
much better dressed than other women on the 
boat. I sat up straight and determined right 
then and there that I would acquire a style 
becoming and practical for me and would ex- 
press that style in the most attractive and 



208 SECRETS OF DISTINCTIVE DRESS 

agreeable way that I could. And that reso- 
lution has helped me more than I can say." 

She was frank enough to tell me that she 
attributed a great part of her success to hav- 
ing wakened up, to having made herself trim 
and having kept herself so. She always plans 
to have one good suit or one good dress — just 
as good as she possibly can afford; she pro- 
cures a garment that she has to respect, and 
that will make her "dress up to fit." 

She said, "If I put on a shabby dress, I will 
allow my shoes to be shabby and will be care- 
less about my personal grooming; but when 
I have a dress that I have to be particular 
about, I always have my hair, my shoes, my 
gloves, my corset — everything — just right for 
it, and I always look very much better." 

Living up to your clothes, creating a style, 
and being equal to an intelligent expression of 
it, is worth many dollars to a woman who 
wants to be a success in business, in the home, 
or in social life. 



CHAPTER IX 

ECONOMY IN DRESS 

ECONOMY WITHOUT CHEAPNESS — CLOTHES CONSERVA- 
TION CLOTHES-CLOSET EXPLOITS — A PLEDGE FOR 

AMERICAN WOMEN. 

History, when it gives us a peep into the 
interesting intimacies of our foremothers and 
chats with us in a friendly way about their 
dress, never seems to deem flamboyant or 
moneyed dress worthy of emphasis in historic 
chronicling. 

Read in the fashion notes of past centuries 
and you will find that simple dress, which is 
almost invariably artistic dress, was held in 
favor by those who knew and that it always 
lived longest. 

The dignified and unpretentious Puritan 
costume will ever be cherished and modeled 
after, because it fitted in and was right for the 
spirit and purse of the women who wore it. 

Flamboyant dress is rank extravagance — 
wilful waste. Cheap dress, too, is extrava- 
gance, because it soon loses its livability and 
must be replaced sooner than would a dress of 
good material, design, and workmanship. 

209 



2IO SECRETS OF DISTINCTIVE DRESS 

I have never had patience with a woman 
who spends all the money she can on her 
clothes, who considers it "poor folksy" to make 
over clothes. Rather, I like to use my knowl- 
edge of clothes values to dress economically 
and yet attain success in dress; and, most of 
all, I like to do this in make-over clothes. I 
find actual pleasure in showing respect to fab- 
rics and pieces of trimming that have served 
me well by adapting them to a new fashion 
with the greatest skill I possess. 

In "Thrift," by Smiles, we may read this 
adequate definition : "Economy is . . . the 
growth of experience, example, and fore- 
thought. . . . It is only when men become 
wise and thoughtful that they become frugal." 

To practice economy in dress without 
cheapness, it is necessary to apply the prin- 
ciples of dress to the requirements of your 
individual type. Throughout this book, para- 
graphs upon paragraphs are given on the prin- 
ciples of dress, the triangle of correct dress 
that surrounds the individual — i. e., color, 
line, and fabric. A knowledge of these three 
things correctly applied will bring about 
economy in dress. You will be able to dress 
in better taste and at far less expense when 
you understand the principles and adhere to 
them with a will for success. 



ECONOMY IN DRESS 211 

A wise and fair expenditure of income is 
one of the greatest economical factors of the 
age and one of the most vital of the household 
problems. The woman who is in charge of 
the household purse has a responsibility as 
great as that of earning to fill it, if not greater, 
and it is her duty to inform herself as to the 
cost and the return on every purchase she 
makes if she would spend wisely and well. 

Much has been written on clothes budgets. 
Personally, I have never been able to apply a 
clothes-budget outline to my needs. Some- 
times a certain dress is so much of a success 
that I can wear it two or three years. Other 
times, perhaps the next season, I want to make 
over the dress that I seem to have outgrown 
mentally rather than physically. Then, again, 
I find that something new — a new frock, a 
new hat, or a new veil — is a wise investment, 
in that the purchase and wear give me happi- 
ness, and that is as I wish it to be. I like to 
enjoy planning, purchasing, and wearing 
clothes. I revel in a trifling purchase if it is 
something to harmonize with something else 
I own or to fill a definite need. 

If you plan every little detail of your cos- 
tume with regard to your type and individu- 
ality, you will find that you will wear this 
costume twice as long as if you bought it 



212 SECRETS OF DISTINCTIVE DRESS 

through necessity or without anticipating the 
joy of ownership. 

CLOTHES CONSERVATION 
The most economically dressed business 
woman I know is one of the smartest dressed 
women I know. She actually practices clothes 
conservation. Her clothes seem so much a 
part of her that everything she wears seems 
to have a definite place and to fill it well. 

I know this woman intimately, and know, 
too, that she wore one extremely well-tailored 
blue-serge frock to business for two years. 
She also has one blue-silk dress, which she 
wore to afternoon and evening affairs. Dur- 
ing this time, her extravagances, if they could 
be called that, were dainty new collars and 
cuffs. Usually, these were made and carefully 
laundered by her own hands. It seemed that 
a dainty, "just-right" collar always completed 
her toilet, and I am sure that if you were to 
see this woman, no matter where, you would 
say she was smartly gowned. True, she had 
a beautiful fur piece and a handsome coat, 
but both of these she had had longer than two 
years. You could never associate "out-of- 
dateness" with anything she wore, because her 
garments were as simple as it is possible to 
have them, and she kept them immaculate. I 



ECONOMY IN DRESS 213 

have heard her say that if she even senses a 
weak spot in one of her precious frocks she 
darns it immediately. 

She says now : "I never enjoyed my clothes 
more, and I shall never own more than four 
dresses at a time as long as I live. I derive 
actual pleasure in making my very self a 
standard regarding my clothes and living up 
to that standard, for I find more joy that way 
and it is ever so much more comfortable and 
a great deal more economical." 

This woman makes her own dresses, insist- 
ing that this gives her great advantages, be- 
cause she can purchase excellent material and 
economize in cutting; and then she is sure that 
the garments will be exactly suited to her indi- 
vidual requirements. This she deems the most 
important factor in successful dress. She says 
she found it easier to learn to make her clothes 
successfully than it was to try to have her 
desires interpreted by a dressmaker or satisfied 
by ready-to-wear garments. 

Respect for fabrics and deep appreciation 
of hand work, a carefully supplied mending 
basket, an acquaintance, too, with the iron and 
its smooth career, together with a few handy 
recipes for removing spots and stains, will 
help any woman to practice fair economy — 
an economy she will enjoy, for there is an ele- 



214 SECRETS OF DISTINCTIVE DRESS 

ment of thrift and personal pride that one feels 
in such work. Even the menial, yet necessary, 
task of shining one's shoes has its virtues, for 
one never undertakes such a task without 
becoming eager to do more in the way of 
freshening up. 

CLOTHES-CLOSET EXPLOITS 
I have always said that if I were an archi- 
tect I would plan the closets first and then the 
house around them in order to have ample 
closet room. But, with all the importance I 
give to clothes closets, I must admit that there 
are times when they actually encourage ex- 
travagance. 

They do it in this way: We think we 
haven't anything to wear. We need new shoes 
or a new wrap, forgetting that we have in the 
closets available material that could be fresh- 
ened up. If it is a dress, perhaps it could be 
made over to some extent, or, if necessary, en- 
tirely remodeled. 

Every once in a while you will find it eco- 
nomical to make an exploit through your 
clothes closet. Then, when you have made a 
careful inventory, see whether your conscience 
will permit you to buy new clothes or not. 
Usually one's conscience is a good criterion to 
follow after a clothes-closet exploit. 



ECONOMY IN DRESS 215 

A PLEDGE FOR AMERICAN WOMEN 
If I could send out a pledge card to Amer- 
ican women regarding dress, I would make 
the pledge read thus: 

As an American woman, I pledge myself to strive 
always to acquire and wear only such clothes as are appro- 
priate and individually becoming; to avoid extremes in 
design and color ; to respect my clothes enough to care for 
them to the best of my ability; and to select my clothes 
so that, in fairness to them, they may give back to me in 
service more than they cost me in money. I further pledge 
myself to help establish for all time, by regularly apply- 
ing the rules of correct dress to myself, the fact that 
American women are the best dressed women in the entire 
land. 







OLGA PETROVA 

An erect figure with distinctive carriage; a woman who wears 
simple or elaborate clothes with distinctiveness. 




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.gaanaviianiJaib riliw asriiob siB-iodeb -io 3lqaii> 




Copyright, Marceau 



CHAPTER X 

DISTINCTIVE DRESS 

PERSONALITY AND MENTALITY — AN INTERESTING PER- 
SONALITY — THE A B C OF DISTINCTIVE DRESS 

In the beginning of this book, I told you — ■ 
but not in so many words — that mentality is as 
great a factor in being an attractive woman 
as is dress. If you have come with me all the 
way through the book, and understand what 
I have endeavored to convey to you, you will 
be fully convinced of this. 

Just suppose we are at a dinner party. A 
beautiful woman dressed in perfect taste sits 
near us. We attempt conversation with her, 
but she does not know how to respond and we 
lose our interest in her. We were fascinated 
by a beautiful picture that will not bear close 
acquaintance, because her mentality is not 
equal to her physical beauty. 

We immediately wonder how it is that she 
is beautifully gowned and whether her gown 
was designed and constructed according to her 
own ideas, or according to those of some per- 
son whose intelligence is greater than hers. 

217 



2l8 SECRETS OF DISTINCTIVE DRESS 

On the other hand, what a joy it is to see a 
correctly dressed woman who possesses per- 
sonality and mentality. When we open con- 
versation with her, we find that her mentality 
fairly scintillates; her thoughts are ever quick 
and ready, her ideals high and inspiring, and 
her sympathy broad and generous. 

Mentality is so much a part of attractive- 
ness that no woman who is earnest in her de- 
sire to be appropriately dressed can afford to 
be lackadaisical in matters that pertain to her 
intellectual equipment. 

AN INTERESTING PERSONALITY 
Some one may say: "I believe I could 
reach the heights of correct dress. I have an 
attractive face and a pleasing figure, but I am 
not interesting." 

I want to say to you earnestly, an interesting 
personality may be acquired, and quickly, too, 
if one is interested and desirous of acquiring 
human understanding — of acquiring love for 
the humanness expressed all around us. Read- 
ing, observation, association, all help to form 
a generous mind, and sympathetic human 
interest in everything that concerns us and 
those about us will help to develop the gener- 
ous mind and make it possible for its owner to 
be both charming and interesting. 



DISTINCTIVE DRESS 219 

Learn to enjoy your surroundings, to appre- 
ciate your associates. None are so ill-disposed 
that you cannot find hidden away somewhere, 
if you know how to bring them out, a respon- 
sive chord and frequently much lovableness. 

And the same is true of work, no matter 
what it is; good is somewhere about if we 
look for it. No work is so common that it 
cannot help us if our own minds are receptive 
and open to improvement. 

In dress this is perhaps more noticeably 
true than in anything else. I have seen women 
develop their ideas of dress to a delightful 
degree in just a few short weeks, because they 
allowed their minds to be open to improve- 
ment. They saw the need of being better 
dressed ; they were awakened to the fact that 
they could be more attractive, that they could 
give happiness to others and acquire a keener 
self-respect by cultivating good taste in dress. 
When minds are awake to dress possibilities, 
they will also be awake to other things of 
interest, thereby aiding them to develop inter- 
esting personalities. 

Many people ask, "Why do actresses appar- 
ently express more intelligence in dress than 
does the average woman?" 

The answer is simple. It is because an 
actress to be successful in her art must first of 



220 SECRETS OF DISTINCTIVE DRESS 

all develop her mind by long and diligent 
study, and, second, she must use her grace of 
body and her clothes to express to perfection 
the part she plays. 

The reason, then, that a successful actress 
invariably expresses her personality in her 
dress must be attributed to the fact that she 
studies and strives for certain effects, and, 
through study and her intense earnestness, 
achieves her goal. 

Knowledge of the correct principles of 
dress and a close adherence to them will aid 
you in acquiring personal assurance, which is 
the keynote of success. 

Personal assurance is gained by a thorough 
understanding of the undertaking we have in 
hand — be it work, play, or what you will — 
and being entirely fit mentally and physically 
to meet the demands that are made upon us. 

Your physical self cannot win for you un- 
less your state of mind, as well as your body, 
is comfortable. 

This means that proper clothing is a big 
factor in your success, for mentality acts be- 
hind the mask of body, and the body must be 
equal to express it. You must back up your 
mentality, emphasize your personality, ac- 
quire personal assurance by knowing that your 
clothes are absolutely right. 



DISTINCTIVE DRESS 221 



Support the "within" by correctly attiring 
the "without," and half your battle is won for 
you. 

THE ABC OF DISTINCTIVE DRESS 

In summing up, the ABC of distinctive 
dress is careful grooming and correct attire. 

If your attire is entirely correct, it will al- 
ways be appropriate. Vigilance must be 
exercised in carrying out the minute details 
of grooming as well as costume. Begin today 
to "take care of yourself" — your mental as 
well as physical self — and in a surpris- 
ingly short time you will have achieved your 
goal — you will have acquired the charm of 
mind and of manner and the self-reliance that 
comes to those who know the "Secrets of Dis- 
tinctive Dress." 



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